Slugterra: Keeping The Peace
by Create-gunner1209
Summary: It has been 25 years since Dr.Blakk was defeated now Eli has a family and his son Leo Shane and his friends must deal with new threats, new challenges, and new slugs in order to protect Slugterra.
1. Chapter 1

Ch.1 Peace

It has been 10 years since Eli & the Shane Gang defeated & his Ghouls. Now peace reigns over Slugterra & very thing seems perfect.

"Oh no. I'm late!" said a 25 year old Eli Shane racing home on his Mecha-beast, Lucky, which was set in Bike Mode. "I have to get there. I have to."

Burpy, who was propped on Eli's shoulder, chirped 'Don't worry. It'll be fine.'

In about 10 minutes they made it to the hospital. Eli practically flew off his mecha & ran inside & headed for the 6th floor of the hospital. As soon as the elevator door opened he ran through the hallway he turned the corner & spotted Kord waiting outside of a hospital room. Kord spotted Eli & gestured for him to hurry up! Eli didn't waist anytime sprinting down the hall. As soon as he neared the door he stopped, took a breath, & walked in. There inside the room a 25 year old Trixie Shane sat up in a bed holding a small bundle in her arms. Eli calmly but yet excitedly walked over to her. Trixie gave a loving smile to her husband. Eli was about to speak when the small bundle moved, Trixie handed the bundle to Eli, to allow him to see the newest member of the Shane family.

"He's amazing." said a prideful Eli.

"He sure is." agreed Trixie. Kord then barged into the room & checked out the little Shane "He looks just like his old man." commented Kord.

"Thanks Kord." thanked Eli.

"Yeah, well if he looks like you he'll probably be foolish, rash, & troublesome." teased Kord

"Gees thanks Kord." said an annoyed Eli.

Trixie gave a slight laugh. "Then hopefully he has my smarts." teased Trixie.

Then the door was slammed opened "Where is he! Pronto the Magnificent will grant the honor of meeting the new Shane!" declared Pronto holding a plate full of food, suggesting that he just came from the hospital cafeteria.

"Shhh, quite Pronto." hissed Eli, Burpy light his head on fire & stared at Pronto to empathize the point. Eli then looked at his new son & Kord was right he does look like him. Burpy hopped down from Eli's shoulder to atop the blanket that was curled around the baby.

"Is that my new brother?" asked a little girl's voice. Eli turned & walked to the door where a small girl, about 3 years old, Eli took a knee & said "Here look, Sydney. Here is your little brother." The girl moved a blue strand of hair from her face & stared at the tiny thing with curiosity & amazement.

"He's so cute! What's his name?" asked Sydney

"That's a good question." said Trixie as Eli walked back over to her & handed her the baby.

"How about ... Leonardo Shane!" suggested Eli.

"That's a great name!" cheered Sydney. Burpy chirped & jumped up & down in agreement.

"I love it, too." said Trixie as the baby opened his eyes to reveal his blue eyes to Eli.

"Then that's his name, welcome to Slugterra Leonardo Shane." declared Eli.

(10 Years Later)

"Oh no. Where is he? How can I lose him?" asked a worried Eli, wondering around the forest near the Shane Hideout. A small boy about 10 years old peered out from the side of a rock & giggled as Eli searched around a tree.

"This is now good. Trixie's going to kill me." said Eli to a just as worried Burpy.

The kid couldn't help but chuckle, Burpy turned his head, & the boy quickly ducked down. After about 10 seconds he peered his head over the rock but Eli had disappeared. The boy turned around when he bumped into a pair of legs mowing what he hit he turned to run but a hand grabbed him by the shoulder.

"Leonardo! Where have you been?" asked a furious Eli. Leonardo didn't get a chance to answer when Eli dragged him back home.

"Leo you can't go wondering on your own. There's dangerous things around." explained Eli.

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to." said Leo looking down at his feet, because he's ashamed that he made Eli so worried. "But I'm a Shane I have to look for danger & stop it ... like you."

Eli stopped walking he kneeled down & said "Yes you are a Shane but I don't go looking for danger, but it is my job to stop it. Not yours." He stood back up "Or at least not yet. And beside trouble usually finds me anyway." But that didn't help Leo's mood.

They entered the house where Trixie sat at the computer working on the script for her next movie & she was showing Tim, Leo's 5 year old little brother, how the computer works. "How'd your slug hunt go?" she asked.

"It was fine." answered Eli as Leo sat down on the couch.

Trixie got up, with Tim following behind her, knowing that if Leo doesn't answer means that he is upset. So she stood up and walked over to Leo & asked "What's the matter?"

Leo answered in a depressed tone "Dad said he would take me somewhere cool to hunt slugs, but he just took me outside the house."

"Oh, that doesn't sound like a cool place." said Trixie, she turned her head to face Eli "Then maybe he should take you to a cool place right now." Eli finally realized what Trixie was getting at, but before he could say anything Leo jumped up yelling "Yeah he should take me right now!" He ran to the garage yelling "I'll be waiting on Lucky!"

Eli frowned asking "Why is that kid so troublesome?"

"Well maybe Kord was right." teased Trixie.

Burpy gave a chuckle, as Eli headed to the garage, but Sydney, now 13 years old, stepped in Eli's way & wined "How come Leo gets to go? Why can't I come along?"

Before Eli could respond Trixie stepped forward answering "Don't worry. You, me, & Tim are heading over to the mall. Is that ok?"

Sydney's face light up and she squealed saying "Awesome! I've been wanting to go to the mall in forever!"

Then an Aquabeek peered out from her hair that laid on her shoulder. The Aquabeek hoped into Sydney's hand. "Do you want to go too, Marina?" asked Sydney.

Marina is Sydney's Aquabeek she found her while at the beach about 2 years ago.

The Aquabeek chirped a yes & shook her head in agreement. Sydney ran off to wait by Trixie's Mecha-beast, Boomer.

Trixie gave a small laugh as the little girl ran off. "Oh we have such great kids." She said as she & Tim headed for the garage.

"Yeah, kids that run to mommy who spoils them." sassed Eli as he entered the garage & hopped onto his mecha.

"Alright we'll be home for dinner." said Trixie as she seated Tim on her Boomer, revved it up, & then sprinted away.

"You ready to go?" asked Eli to Leo. Leo nodded & so Eli revved up Lucky & sprinted out of the garage to head to someplace cool.

* * *

**Hope you guys liked this, because this is the first story I have created, but I have tons of ideas for this story. And please do send me suggestions.**


	2. Chapter 2

Ch.2 Saving

Eli decided to take Leo to a small cavern near Deadweed. Eli parked Lucky & helped Leo get off as soon as the kid's feet touched the ground he took off running "Yes we're finally here!" he declared as he peered behind a tree in search of slugs.

"Don't go far." said Eli.

Leo continued to run around he found a small group of Fandango slugs & alone Thresher, he ended up chasing the Thresher. As he chased after it Eli yelled out "Wait, don't go far!" he ran to his son but then he lost sight of him. "Oh no not again."

Meanwhile, Leo continued chasing the frightened Thresher, but Leo stopped to look at an abandoned building.

The building was big, it was black in color, it was covered in plants & dirt clearly it was abandoned. Leo got closer to the building, he found a small opening in the wall & he crawled inside. After he wiggled his way through he looked into the building see a hallway full of plants & dirt. "Wow this is so cool." he said.

He walked down the hall until he came across a large metal door. And curiosity drove him to press's the red button that was installed near the door & it surprisingly had enough power to open the door. "So cool." said Leo as he walked inside the giant room.

The room was giant with a giant machine in the middle. The machine was black, rusted, & looked like some kind of drill. Near the drill sat a counsel. Being as curious as he is, Leo went to the counsel & noticed that it had many buttons, so he did what any child would do, press every button! After he pressed several buttons the drill roared & began to drill into the ground. Leo smiled, clearly enjoying himself, & pressed several more buttons & causing the drill to roar louder & drill faster.

Eli was still wondering around in the forest desperately searching for his son. "Where could he have gone?" he asked Burpy who just shrugged.

A loud roar of machinery hit their ears. "What is that?" asked Eli as he sprinted to the source of the noise.

He found the building & examined it until he noticed a red V atop of it, realizing what it was Eli yelled "Leonardo! Are you in there? Get out of there right now!"

But it was useless the roaring of the machinery was too loud & getting louder. Not wanting to waist anymore time Eli loaded Banger, his Armashelt, into his blaster & shot him at the wall creating a giant hole. Eli sprinted inside & ran through the halls until he found the giant metal door open. He ran inside & saw Leo playing with the counsel & standing by a giant drill.

"Leonardo Shane! Get away from there!" ordered Eli.

Leo turned his head to see Eli standing there & clearly trying to yell at him. Leo immediately understood & slowly made his way towards his angry father, but as soon as he got 2 feet away from the counsel the drill boomed a loud roar & it began to smoke, shake, & spark.

"Get away from there!" Eli demanded, but before Leo take another step a dark red liquid gushed out from the hole the drill was making & landed on Leo's left eye & left arm. Leo collapsed to the ground in pain.

"No!" Eli shrieked as he sprinted to his son but the drill exploded sending Eli backwards & crashing into the wall.

Eli wobbled as he got back on his feet & desperately looked around for his son. He spotted Leo unconscious & surrounded by a barrier of flames & rubble. Eli loaded Beaker in his blaster and shot him over to the flames. Beaker used his Cyclonator attack to extinguish the flames that surrounded Leo. Beaker turned back into protoform & landed near the unconscious Leo as Eli ran to them. Eli stopped & stared at his son his left arm which was completely black, with red lines, & burnt as well as his left eye. Eli fell to his knees "This is my fault." he said

Burpy didn't bother to say anything instead he hopped down near Leo's head & noticed that he was still breathing. Burpy jumped up & down chipping 'He's Ok! He's Ok!'

Eli listened for a heartbeat & heard it "He's Ok!" he declared with joy & with a smile, but his expression quickly turned into fear. Because his son may be alive but he was hurt badly. The entire building then began to shake.

"Lets get out of here." said Eli. He picked up Burpy, putting him on his shoulder, he grabbed Beaker and put him in a slug tube, & finally picked up his hurt son & ran for the exit.

As soon as they got outside the building collapsed but Eli didn't stop running he hopped onto Lucky, put him in bike mode, & rode off in a hurry. Eli knew that Leo's condition was really bad & that the hospital would not be able to help, so he rode off to the only people that could help, the Shadow Clan.

In about 30 minutes Eli made it to Shadow Clan Territory, & to the entrance to the Ligthwell. He got off Lucky & left Leo to lay on the seat. Eli pulled out his Shadow Talker & placed it on his head. In about 30 seconds the Shadow Clan appeared.

"Eli Shane, what business do you have here?" asked the Shadow Clan Chief.

"I need your help." answered Eli as he placed his hand on Leo's head. The Shadow Clan approached the unconscious & hurt Leo. The Shadow Clan noticed his deformed arm & eye they backed off asking "What is that thing?"

Eli being a little offended answered "This is my son, Leonardo Shane."

"What happened to him? We sense the same energy as the Ghouls." they asked.

Eli explained "We were out near Deadweed cavern when Leo wondered off & he found an abandoned Dark Water well, I found him inside when Dark Water touched him & the drill exploded. & I like I said before, I need your help."

The Shadow Clan conversed with themselves & asked "What do you hope for us to do?"

"I was hoping Doc or the Ligthwell could help." answered Eli.

The Shadow Clan opened the door to the Lightwell & another group of Shadow Clan appeared with Doc. Doc chirped a hello to Eli & Burpy before hoping into Eli's hand. "Nice to see you Doc. Only I wish it was under better circumstances." said Eli.

The Shadow Clan then spoke saying "Eli Shane we will aid your son." Eli smiled with gratitude. "However, this young Shane is in terrible condition it will take much of the power of your Boon Doc & the Lightwell in order to save your son."

Eli nodded saying "Ok then let's get going." Eli picked up Leo as the Shadow Clan used a Shadow Walker to teleport themselves, Eli, & Leo to the Lightwell. In about 10 seconds they were all at the Lightwell. Eli took Leo to the well & placed him in the middle of the water.

"Okay now it's your turn, Doc." said Eli as he loaded Doc into his blaster. Just as Eli was about to fire the Shadow Clan shouted "Wait!"

Eli turned around & asked "Why?! My son is dying!"

They answered "Before you heal him we must warn you that the Lightwell is for Slugs and curing Dark Water & your Boon Doc will indeed help, but that may not be enough to save him." Eli didn't answer. They continued "That is why we will be transferring some of our own energy into him."

Eli got a confused expression & asked "How are you going to do that?"

The Shadow Clan held out his hand saying "By using this Pulter Slug." Eli looked at the Chief's hand to see a slug he had never seen before.

The slug is black in color it has the same shape as an Infurnuce only it has glowing green patterns on its body that look similar to the Shadow Clan patterns. It has big green eyes, 3 glowing green antennas, & a glowing green belly.

"What does this little guy do?" asked Eli.

"This is a Pulter slug it is made of pure slug energy. Just like Fandango slugs except it is a powerful force." explained the Shadow Clan.

Eli nodded and asked "Alright can we quit wasting time?" The Shadow Clan nodded for Eli to proceed. Eli shot Doc over the Lightwell, Doc velocimorphed and shot a ray of light at Leo. & the Shadow Clan shot their Pulter over the Lightwell as well. The Pulter transformed as soon as it hit velocity.

The velocimorph Pulter has a wide head much like a velocimorphed Infurnus, it has 3 glowing green horns on its head, it has 4 smooth wings, & a long tail with 3 spikes at the end. Its body is completely black with glowing green wing flaps, & glowing green Shadow Clan like patterns on its body.

As the Pulter neared Doc it let loose a spiral energy blast at Leo. The blast fused with Doc's healing ray & the Lightwell began to glow intensely. The Shadow Clan circled around the Well & started chanting & glowing. As they continued to chant Doc's & the Pulter's energy grew brighter as well as the Shadow Clan & the Lightwell. Eli was amazed at what he was seeing.

After about five minutes a giant blast of light boomed out from the Lightwell, the Shadow Clan fell silent, Doc & the Pulter turned back into protoform, & Eli slowly made his way to the Lightwell. He peered inside to see Leo lying there unconscious but then he moved just a little. Eli immediately picked out of the well & held him in his arms until Leo opened his eyes to reveal a glowing green left eye.


	3. Chapter 3

Ch.3 Hiding In the Shadows

"How?! How could you let this happen?!" asked a frustrated Trixie.

"Trixie, I'm sorry. I didn't mean for this to happen." apologized Eli.

Trixie was about ready to punch Eli in the face but Leo stepped in between them raising his now left arm in their face, his arm is black but has glowing green patterns on it just like the Shadow Clan. "Stop fighting!" he demanded putting his arm down & looking at his parents with his glowing green left eye. "It's not dad's fault. It's mine I wondered off too far & disobeyed him, it's my fault." he said looking down in shame & sorrow.

Eli bent down on one knee & said "No Leo, it's my fault I let you out of my sight & I didn't do anything when the well exploded."

Trixie placed her hand on Eli's & Leo's shoulders saying "It's also my fault. It was me that said you should take him somewhere." Eli gave a smile but Sydney interrupted by ignorantly saying "Yeah well it's not my fault." Trixie gave her a stern look to be quiet.

Trixie turned back around & said to Eli "And beside it doesn't matter whose fault it is in the end Leo's fine & alive, everything is ok." Eli turned to his son who smiled in agreement.

Eli smiled and hugged his son. "I'm sorry. But I promise nothing like this will ever happen again." After he said that the Shadow clan approached the family of Shanes.

Eli stood up "Thank you. Without your help I don't know what I would have done."

"Eli Shane, I told you that we would transfer some of our own energy into your son. And giving his current condition I must tell you this, Leonard Shane must stay with us." Eli stepped backwards in shock of what he was just told.

"What do you mean he has to stay with you?!" asked a protective Eli. Trixie over hearing them walked over & asked "Wait what are you talking about?" Eli told her what the Shadow Clan told him.

"What? No! You can't have him!" declared Trixie pulling Leo to her.

"What we mean is that Leonardo has our energy making him part of us which means he has our abilities." explained the Shadow Clan.

"So what if he has your abilities?" asked Eli.

"Because he has our abilities means that he can talk to slugs, sense bad energy, climb walls, understand everything I am saying, & much more." explained the Shadow Clan then looking to Leo who's not wearing a Shadow Talker.

"It's true." said Leo "I understood everything you said."

Eli still wasn't convinced "But why should I leave him with you?"

"He may have our abilities but it takes time to learn to use & control them." they answered. Eli looked down thinking.

"And not only that he will be safe from any threat & you will be allowed to see him whenever you would like, but he will not be permitted to leave until he has fully mastered his abilities." they added in.

Eli walked away saying "Give me a minute, please." He pulled Trixie over to the side & conversed between themselves about what to do. After they had made a decision they came back to the Shadow Clan saying "We agree. Leo can stay with you & be trained as long as we get to see him whenever we would like." The Shadow Clan nodded in agreement & shook Eli's hand.

Eli walked over to Leo & put his hands on Leo's shoulders he took a breath "Leo you're going to have to stay here for a while." Leo moved his eyes so he couldn't see Eli's face. "I'm sorry but you'll be safe with them & we'll see you all the time." Eli said reassuringly.

Leo looked up at his dad & said "I understand why I have to stay here. I'm just upset that I didn't find a cool slug today." he said with a smile to cheer his dad up, who smiled at the little joke.

The Shadow Clan Chief approached & said "Maybe your slug hunt wasn't a total waste." He held out his hand revealing the Pulter slug from before, it chirped a "Hello" to Leo. Leo's face immediately light up at the sight of the cool slug.

"What is that?" asked a curious Leo.

"This is a Pulter slug, he is the one that helped to save your life." answered the Chief.

"Really?" asked Leo

"Yes." The Pulter jumped onto Leo's shoulder. "He's yours now." said the Shadow Clan.

"Really I can keep him?" asked Leo looking to his parents.

Eli smiled brightly "I don't see a problem with it, but that slug is your responsibility now, so you have to take care of him."

"Don't worry I will." promised Leo has the Pulter jumped into his hand. "Since you helped save my life I'll name you, Save! How does that sound?" asked Leo. The Pulter jumped up & chirped a 'yes'.

Trixie examined the slug "Save, that's a great name." Sydney ran up to Leo saying "Oh wow what a cool slug!" She let Marina hop into her hand & then she introduced Marina to Save.

Eli rubbed Leo's head saying "I guess this wasn't a waist after all huh." Leo didn't answer his left eye glowed bright as he enjoyed the company of his very own slug.

After that day Leo stayed with Eli & Trixie for about a week so he can pack up.

After that Leo was put under training with the Shadow Clan he trained day & night for years. He learned how to talk to & understand slugs.

Leo was also trained by Eli & the Shane Gang. Eli taught him how to use a blaster & how to use different techniques. But Eli lend Leo his old Blaster.

While he stayed with the Shadow Clan he gained a small arsenal. He still had Save but he now has a Polero named Trip who was a 13 year old birthday gift from Eli, a Hop Rock named Heat, a Dirt Urchin named Pierce, a Phosphoro named Star, & a Flopper named Slips. Leo had a great friendship with his 6 slugs.

Even though he only had 6 slugs he's a pretty good dueler. And after 5 years of training with the Shadow Clan Leo learned how to climb walls, use the Shadow Walker, he even learned how to launch slugs by throwing them just like the Shadow Clan, except they use their tails.

Near the end of the 6th year of staying with the Shadow Clan Leo was ready to leave, but he has to turn fifteen first.


	4. Chapter 4

Merging From the Shadows

"Happy Birthday." said Eli to a 15 year old Leo. Eli examined his son noticing that he looks just like he did as a 15 year old, except he's wearing a white shirt, with orange sleeves, & light green lines on the sides of the shirt. He's also wearing a black bandolier, & black pants.

Eli handed his son a medium sized box with the Shane Star on top. Leo shook the box lightly. "What do you think it is?" Leo asked to Save who was perched on Leo's shoulder.

"I don't know. Maybe it's a box of slug food." answers Save. Leo gave him a blank expression that read 'really'? Leo pushed the button to unlock the box & inside laid a brand new blaster. "Wow." He said as he picked it up & examined it.

The label read Storm Raider GXZ. The blaster looked allot like Eli's except the grip was allot smoother looking, the barrel was orange but with a white outline, & a light green streak on it.

"This thing is amazing!" declared Leo.

"Glad you liked it." said Kord "I built it myself."

"This is great! Thank you." said Leo.

"That's a gift from all of us. You see while Kord built it the rest of us had to pay for the parts." explained Eli trying to get some of the credit.

"It doesn't matter who gave it's just awesome." said Leo. "Yeah it is." added Burpy who say on Eli's shoulder.

A little boy about 10 years old ran up to Leo. He's very skinny, he has leaf green eyes & red hair like Trixie. He's wearing a green t-shirt & grey pants.

"Oh wow that's so cool. You have your own blaster!" he said.

"Thanks Tim." responded Leo as he put the Blaster on the side of his belt.

"Hey guys it's getting late." said an 18 year old Sydney as she sat on her blue panther mecha-beast, that she got for her 15th birthday. She calls it Navy because it is the NV-E model.

"Oh shoot your right." said Trixie checking the time. She hugged her son goodbye, got Tim on Boomer, & then jumped on herself. Pronto & Kord hopped onto their mechas as well. Eli hugged Leo goodbye, hopped onto Lucky & rode off. Eli turned his head to wave back to Leo. Leo waved his blaster in the air as a final thank you. After they disappeared out of sight Leo immediately ran, he ran past a couple of Shadow Clan members & waved hello to them.

He eventually stopped by a small hut & walked inside where his slugs immediately cheered & jumped up yelling "Happy Birthday!" Leo smiled with delight especially at the card they had drawn up. Leo took the card in his hand "Thanks allot guys." He showed them his new blaster.

"I finally have my own blaster. You guys know what that means right?" he asked his slugs who jumped up & down in joy. Leo smiled & pulled out a flyer, that Tim gave him a couple of weeks ago, that read that a Slug Tournament is going to be held that day & it's not far from where he is. He had the plan that as soon as he got his blaster he would enter that competition.

"I finally get to meet people, real people!" said an excited Leo as he searched through his cabinets.

"And we can get new friends!" cheered Star.

"That's right new slugs to join our team." said Leo as he pulled out a silver sleeve & put his left arm through it to cover his glowing marks. He then pulled out a metal eye patch & placed it over his glowing left eye.

"Okay I'm all set. You guys ready to go?" he asked his slugs but they just hopped into their slug tubes or into Leo's backpack, which is just like Eli's. Save hopped onto Leo's shoulder and chirped "Ready."

"Okay then let's go." Leo picked up his Shadow Walker & teleported away to the outside of the Shadow Clan Territory. He placed the Shadow Walker between a bush & a rock to keep it out of sight.

Leo took a deep breath & sprinted for the tournament, he eventually stopped running when he realized that he has no clue where he is going.

"Maybe I should have asked Tim to bring me a map." said Leo.

"Maybe you should have asked for a mecha-beast & not a blaster." chirped Pierce.

"I've told you before Dad won't give me a mecha-beast until the Shadow Clan declare that I have full control." responded Leo.

But he heard the sound of tools hitting against a machine. He walked over to the source which sounded like it was coming from behind a rock. Leo steps around it to see a Molenoid trying to start up his rusty Mouse mecha-beast by hitting it with a wrench.

The mole appeared to be a couple years older than Leo. He has short black hair, he's wearing a pale yellow shirt with a brown jacket, brown pants, and brown boots.

He also has a blaster at his side. It's a rather small yellow & brown blaster.

Leo approached him from behind as he finally got his mecha to work. "Hey there." said Leo trying to be friendly. The mole screamed and aimed his blaster at Leo's head.

"Woe woe I'm not here to cause trouble!" said Leo trying not to get slugged.

The mole put down the blaster & asked "Who are you?"

"My name is Leo Sha... Shadow, my name is Leo Shadow." lied Leo so that he can keep the secret that he is a Shane.

"Well Leo my name is Quiver." introduced the mole as a Jellyish hopped onto his head. Quiver allowed the Jellyish to jump in his hand "And this is my magnificent slug Logie." introduced Quiver as the Jellyish chirped "hello."

Leo picked up Save & introduced him to Quiver & Logie. "A Pulter slug! I've never seen one before. Where'd you get it?" asked Quiver

"I got him from a family friend." answered Leo as he placed Save back on his shoulder.

"Oh ok. So Leo if you're not here for trouble, then what do you need?" asked Quiver

"I need directions to this tournament." answered Leo as he pulled out the flyer & handed it to Quiver.

"Ha you don't need directions! I can take you there myself." said Quiver hopping on his mecha.

"Oh really that be great." said Leo as Quiver transformed the tail of the mouse mecha into a circle creating another seat. Leo hopped on & they ran off to the tournament.

They arrived at the tournament where slingers were all sparing or chatting around. Leo jumped off the mouse "Thanks for the ride." he said to Quiver.

"No problem." he said as he parked & jumped off his mecha. "Now follow me to registration." Quiver led Leo to registration where he signed as Leo Shadow. After that Quiver asked Leo "So have you been in a tournament before?"

"No this is my first one, but it's not my first time dueling." he said with a smile.

"That's fine. Listen I'm going to try & fix my mecha. You should go look around." said Quiver as he pulled out the wrench.

Leo walked around for a minute looking around at all the mecha-beasts, blasters, & slingers. He walked over to watch a couple of slingers shoot at practice dummies. Leo felt a little tug near his foot he looked down to see a Hexlet slug tugging on his legs chirping "Get out of the way my friend has to practice slinging!"

Leo moved his foot away from the Hexlet when a girl with long blond hair came walking over & picking up the Hexlet saying "Sorry about that, I didn't mean to have my slug bother you." Leo examined the girl.

She's wearing a blue undershirt with a short orange t-shirt over it, orange gloves, & she has white pants on. She also has a orange & blue blaster attacked to side of her belt.

"Oh don't worry your slug isn't bothering me at all." said Leo "Just a little rude." he said under his breath. He looked at the girl's sparkling blue eyes. "So uh hi my name's Leo Shadow."

"My name's Christi Charm." she said. "Is that a Pulter slug?" she asked pointing to Save.

"Yeah, this is Save." said Leo

"Cool, and you already met Jinx." she said holding up the Hexlet.

"Jinx, that's a good name for a Hexlet." commented Leo.

"Thanks." said Christi "You know I haven't seen you around here before. Is this your first time here?"

"Yeah this is actually my first tournament." answered Leo "I've dueled plenty of times in the past though." he said as they walked toward where Quiver was with his mecha.

"So what's with the eye patch?" Christi asked curiously.

"Oh I uh got into a bad accident & my eye got burnt very badly along with my left arm. That's why I wear the eye patch & the sleeve so I don't creep people out." said Leo. As they came upon Quiver who stood by his mecha as a Cave Troll fiddled around with it.

The Cave Troll appears to be a few years older than Leo. The Troll has orange hair. He's wearing a helmet with a spike on it. He's got a white shirt on with a grey vest and black pants & boots as well as gloves. He also has a large grey & blue blaster with him.

The Troll stood up declaring "Alright that about does it. It should work fine now." Quiver hopped on his mecha & it started up immediately.

"See what I'd tell ya." cheered the Troll.

Quiver stood up on his mecha & said "Oh thank you ."

"Yeah, the name's Garo." he said

"Looks like you mecha's fixed." said Leo to Quiver.

"Yes thanks to this fine sir." said Quiver pointing to Garo.

"It was a simple thing." said Garo with a smile.

"No da, Cave Trolls are the best engineers." commented Leo.

"Yeah, & we're not bad with blasters either." Garo added in.

"So your in the competition too?" asked Christi

"I sure am. And by the way my names Garo & this is CaveIn." he said as he pulled out a Diggrix slug.

"Cool." said Leo. He introduced himself & Save. And Christi did the same with herself & Jinx.

"So your first tournament. You must really excited." said Garo

"Yeah I sure am. Ain't that right guys?" Leo asked his slugs who chirped "Oh Yeah!" And "Lets start already!"

"Your parents must be very excited too." added Christi

"Um not really my parents are ... way too busy to show up for this so I didn't say anything about it." said Leo.

"Hey guys they posted the matches for the first round!" said Quiver pointing to a giant screen. The screen showed the roaster and had a picture of Leo & a picture of a giant man named Boulder.

"Boulder?" asked Leo

"Yeah he's going to crush you." said a disappointed Quiver.

"Why do you say that?" asked Leo

"Because Boulder only uses Earth Element slugs." explained Christi as Leo looked over at the real Boulder & watched him sling a Rammstone that destroyed several practice dummies.

"Like I said he's going to crush you." repeated Quiver.


	5. Chapter 5

The Tournament

"Alright will Leo Shadow & the Boulder please make their way to the arena!" boomed the speaker through a microphone.

"Wish me luck." said Leo as he entered the arena.

"Ok good luck! Break a leg well not literally!" yelled Quiver.

Leo entered the arena he looked around to see that a crowd of people were cheering & hollering for the match to start. Garo, Quiver, and Christi joyed the crowd so they could watch too. Leo looked to the other side of the arena where Boulder stood there confidently & looking like a giant.

The Boulder looked at Leo & declared "The Boulder sees this match as unfair since you only have 6 slugs!"

"Your right." said Leo "Maybe I shouldn't use 3 of them and that will give at least a tiny chance of winning." he teased.

The Boulder growled & the announcer shot a Hop Rock signaling them to begin.

The Boulder immediately fired a Rammstone at Leo. He ducked down to doge the attack he then loaded Star & fired him at the Boulder. Star light up blinding the Boulder, he rubbed his eyes & started to step backwards. Leo took the opportunity to load up Slips & fire him right under the Boulder's foot. The Boulder stepped on Slips & he sloped on him & fell to the ground. Leo loaded Heat into his blaster, ran to Boulder, & aimed the blaster at his head. The Boulder finally regained his sight & realized that he was defeated.

"Winner!" yelled the announcer "The winner is Leo Shadow! Alright Boulder time to pay up."

"The Boulder is confused." announced the Boulder as Leo picked up Slips & Star & thanked them for a good job.

Leo walked up to him to explain that if you lose a match the winner gets to take a slug. So Leo examined his choices of slugs.

"I'll pick you." said Leo reaching out his hand to allow an Armashelt to hop into his hand. "Hi there, how does the name Basher sound?" Leo asked.

The Armashelt chirped "That's an awesome name, glad I thought of it."

"Glad to hear it." said Leo as he stepped out of the arena, Leo allowed Save to introduce himself & the other slugs.

Christi ran up to Leo "That was amazing I can't believe you used a Flopper to defeat him!"

"Yeah I know. Looks like I crushed him, right Quiver?" Leo asked.

"I knew you were going to win the entire time." lied Quiver.

"Yeah sure you did." sassed Garo.

"That was a pretty good match." said a boy's voice. Leo turned around to see a boy standing there with a Flaringo perched on his shoulder.

The boy is the same age as him, he has red orange hair & dark white skin. He's wearing a white t-shirt, a yellow handkerchief, black gloves, a red & black jacket along with black pants, & black boots. He also has a flame like blaster at his side.

"Thanks." said Leo "Who are you anyway?"

"The name's Jack, Jack Burns." he explained. "And this is Scorch." he said pointing to the Flaringo.

"Cool." said Leo. Everybody introduced themselves to Jack & they introduced their slugs.

"No way this your first tournament?" asked Jack "But you did an amazing job."

"Yeah, well my parents did a good job teaching me how to duel." said Leo.

Garo chucked "You did such a good job I would begin to think that you're a Shane." Leo got nervous. "But we all know that's not possible, the Shanes only have 2 kids."

Leo sighed in relief. Then Jack said "You know there's something about those Shanes."

Leo got nervous again. "What do you mean?" he asked

"Well I've heard rumors that the Shanes are constantly traveling into Shadow Clan territory." explained Jack but he had an angry expression on his face suggesting that something else was bothering him.

"Yeah I've heard that rumor too." added Christi.

Just then the announcement for the other matches were to start soon. "Good luck at your matches guys." said a relieved Leo running off for his second match.

The next few matches went very well for Leo. As the matches continued Christi eventually lost to Jack. Garo made it to the 8th round until he lost too. As Leo won he earned an Arachnet that he named Weaver, a Lavalynx he named Magma, a Bubbaleone called Soap, a Frostcrawler called Slushy, a Jellyish he named Goop, a Grenuke he named Bomb, & an Aquabeek he named Soaker.

(Meanwhile as Leo's 9th round was about to end.)

Back at the Shane Hideout Tim was flipping through channels until he reached the network that was broadcasting the same Tournament that Leo was at. Eli passed through the room as the announcer yelled out "And the winner is Leo!"

Eli immediately turned to the TV to see Leo claiming a Rammstone, which he names Smasher. Eli stood there in shock as Burpy's jaw dropped in surprise. Eli immediately ran to his mecha & took off to the tournament.

(Back at the tournament.)

"Looks like we're in the finals." said Leo to Jack

"You bet. I hope you don't mind losing." teased Jack. The announcer then call Leo & Jack to the arena.

"You guys better get going." said Garo

"I'm so excited this will be a historic duel." declared Quiver as Jack & Leo entered the arena.

"Alright everyone!" yelled the announcer "on my right we have the fiery kid that's not afraid to play with fire we have Jack Burns!" The crowd roared in excitement. "And to my left we have the mysterious & cunning slinger Leo Shadow!" And once again the crowd cheered.

"Good luck Leo." said Jack

"Gods luck to you too." responded Leo as they loaded their blasters. The announcer launched his Hop Rock so Leo & Jack could begin.

Leo immediately started the duel by launching Heat, but Jack launched a Bubbaleone which caught Heat in his belly. Jack quickly reloaded & fired a Thresher. Leo bent backwards to avoid the blades he then loaded Magma at Jack. Jack jumped out if the way & fired a Lariat at Leo. The Lariat spat out goop at Leo's leg not allowing him to move.

Leo fired Star at the charging Jack & then he launched Soaker to wash away the goop. While Leo did that Jack launched a Rammstone that punched Leo right in the gut sending him flung backwards bad help fell on his back. Leo jumped right back up & dove behind a tree. He loaded up Trip, leaped away from the tree & launched Trip at Jack. Jack tried to jump out of the way but Trip tangled around his legs causing Jack to fall. Leo then loaded Basher and blasted him toward the ground Basher charged through the ground creating a small trench and then crashing into Jack sending him flying. Jack quickly recovered, he picked up a slug tube, & he let Scorch hop into it.

"Looks like it's time to finish it." said Leo as he loaded Save into his blaster. The 2 slingers took aim at each other & then they pulled the trigger at the exact same time. Scorch & Save transformed and headed into a straight head on collision as they crashed into each other a giant explosion of light and heat boomed. The 2 slugs were brawling it out in midair but Save let loose a giant burst of green energy causing Scorch to be flung backwards. After Scorch turned back into protoform Save flew at Jack & spun around him trapping him, & finally Save let loose the energy creating an explosion which sent Jack flying. Jack fell on the ground & Leo aimed his blaster at him. "Looks like I win." said a victorious Leo before he reached out his hand to help Jack up to his feet.

"Yeah looks like you won." said Jack as he took Leo's hand & he stood up. "So which slug do you want?" asked Jack.

Leo looked at Jack's slug tunes & noticing a Tazerling. "I've always wanted a Tazerling." said Leo reaching out his hand. The Tazerling hopped into his hand.

"His name is SparkPlug." said Jack.

"SparkPlug I like it." said Leo with a smile as Christi, Quiver, & Garo met up with them.

"That was a great match guys." said Garo as he strangled the 2 slingers trying to hug them.

"It sure was." said Christi.

"Ok Leo Shadow please make your way over here." ordered the announcer.

Leo walked out of the arena & to a small stage where the announcer stood holding a tiny box in his hands.

Leo stepped onto the stage. "Leo as a prize for winning you have earned this Geoshard!" declared the announcer opening the box & letting the Geoshard to pop out.

"Wow I've always wanted a Geoshard." said Leo as he picked up the Geoshard. "So you're the prize for winning. Then how do you like the name Prize?" asked Leo.

The Geoshard chirped "I love it!"

"Glad to hear it." said Leo holding up Save in his other hand. "And this is Save." The 2 slugs shook hands & they took a spot on Leo's shoulder.

"Congratulations." said Christi.

"Yeah you earned it." said Jack

"Thanks guys." responded Leo. He looked up to see the cheering crowed but then he spotted Eli on Lucky arriving in the back of the crowd.

"So uh. I'll see you guys later." said Leo quickly getting off the stage.

But Quiver stepped in his way. "Where are you going?" he asked.

"I have an earn to run." lied Leo as he stepped past Quiver. "So uh yeah I have to go before." but he was interrupted by Eli's voice saying "Before you're caught!" The crowd opened a path to allow Eli to step up to the scared Leo.

Leo gave a small smile & said "Yeah, hey ... Dad."

"Dad!" said Christi, Garo, & Quiver at the same time.

"So you're a Shane!" said Jack angrily.

"That's right." said Eli as he turned to face Leo. "What are you doing here?! You're supposed to stay at home?!" asked a furious Leo as he grabbed Leo by the shoulder and started to drag him off.

"Wait I can explain!" said Leo as he got free from Eli's grip.

"There's nothing to explain all you did was disobey me, you're not allowed to leave home until you're ready." said Eli

"And that's why I left!" yelled Leo "I left because I am ready I proved that when I won. In fact I've been ready but you're too overprotective!"

"And you know exactly why that is!" yelled Eli which silenced Leo. "We're leaving & I want you to return those slugs!"

"What? No! I earned these slugs!" defended Leo.

"Too bad return them, apologize to these people for wasting their time, & then we're heading home." ordered Eli. Leo had no clue how to respond he knew his father would not change his mind that easily.

"Um , sir." said Christi as she approached the bickering Shanes. "I know this isn't any of my business, but in the short time I've known Leo I've learned allot from him. Like new dueling styles, how to use slugs in different ways, & how to be a good friend to people & slugs." She said as she looked back at Leo & gave him a reassuring smile. "And sir I don't know what he has to be ready for but I know when to back a friend. And all I see is that he wants is some freedom, he's not going to run away."

Eli stood there thinking about what Christi just said. He looked to Burpy who gave a reassuring smile & nodded his head. Eli took a breath & said "Ok I guess it wouldn't hurt for you to have some freedom." Leo gave the biggest smile he could for hearing that. "And besides it looks like you made some great friends."

Leo turned to face them & said "I sure do." They smiled with gratitude. But what Leo didn't realize is Jack riding off a Raptor mecha with an angry expression on his face.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own Slugterra or its characters. And please feel free to send me OCs.**

* * *

Supervised

"Ok I'm going to hang out with my friends." said Leo as he put on his bandolier & collected his slugs while he stood in his room.

It has been an entire day since the tournament, since then Leo & Eli talked to the Shadow Clan about giving Leo some freedom. They said that Leo has mastered most of the abilities but he will need to go to them once or twice a week to be trained. Eli & Leo agreed to the terms. Now Leo is living back at the Shane Hideout, unfortunately Eli & Trixie left all of his kid stuff there like his old clothes, toys, & bed.

"Alright have a good time." said Trixie hugging him at the entrance of his room.

"Don't worry I will." said Leo as he left for the garage. He entered the garage where a wolf mecha-beast stood there. The label read WLK-R, but Leo calls it Walker. Leo got Walker from Kord, who actually had it built a year ago, but Eli didn't allow him to give it to Leo. Leo hopped on & rode off to meet his friends. As he left Eli stood watching from the window with a concerned expression.

In about 10 minutes Leo had arrive to where his friend said to meet at. Leo arrived and saw Quiver, Garo, & Christi waiting for him on their mechas. Jack however disappeared after Eli arrived at the tournament & they had no clue where or what happened to him.

Leo approached them & checked out the rhino mecha that Garo sat on & he checked out the gazelle mecha that Christi was sitting on.

"How's it going guys?" asked Leo.

"It's about time you got here." said an impatient Quiver, with Loge on his shoulder.

"Sorry this was my first time using a mecha-beast." apologized Leo "So what are we going to do today?" asked Leo as he hopped off Walker.

"It's simple." said Garo "After getting new slugs you want to get to know them & you want to practice with them. And so that is why we said to meet here." Garo pointed to the building next to them.

The building was rather large but it looked worn down & it had a blurry sign with a slug pasted on it & it read SlugIt.

"What is this place?" asked Leo before entering.

"This is one of the best target ranges around." explained Garo as part of the sign chirped off & fell.

"So why is it the best?" asked Leo but he didn't need answer after stepping inside.

The facility was absolutely amazing the walks actually looked new & clean with shinning metal. On the main side of the building Leo could see the target range, at one end of the building there appeared to be a small restaurant, tables and benches were scattered around the place, there was a small race course there for mechas, & there was even a shop for blaster parts and other things too.

"This place is amazing." said Save in awe.

"It sure is." said Leo with his jaw dropped in astonishment.

"See told ya." said Garo and CaveIn, who sat on Garo's shoulder, smirked because his slinger was correct.

"You sure did." said Leo. The four of them then made their way over to the target range. As they walked Leo accidentally bumped into a man.

"Oops so sorry sir." apologized Leo. The man turned around he appeared to be the same age as Eli and he had 2 slugs on his shoulder a Flaringo and a Dirt Urchin.

"It's ok no harm done." said the man as he walked away. After that Leo & his friends made it to the target range & Leo was able to take a better look at it. Some targets were stationary, others moved around in different paths, a small target arena, & there appeared to be a small sparing arena there, too.

"Oh man I don't know where to start." said Leo as he looked around.

"Well I would start with the regular targets just to see what your new slugs are made of." suggested Christi as she petted Jinx.

Leo walked over to the targets & picked up a slug tube with Prize inside. "Okay Prize time to show me what you got." he said as he loaded Prize into the blaster & blasted him at the target. Prize velacimorphed & crashed into the target invading it in a green crystal. "Awesome." said Leo as Prize returned to him.

After that Leo, Garo, & Christi tried out the rest of their new slugs. Leo launched Weaver who wrapped the dummy on webbing, he then launched Heat who hit the target leaving it completely burnt, and he continued it for a little while until a buff old man came by Leo.

"That's some great slinging there kid." said the buff old man.

"Thanks." said Leo

"You know I've never seen you around here before." he said

"Yeah this is my first time here." answered Leo

"Well nice to have you here. It's nice to see new faces at my facility." said the old man.

"So you own this amazing place?" asked Leo

"That's right & by the way my name's Stalker." he said.

"Stalker oh I know you my dad told me about you." said Leo.

"Really who's your dad?" Stalker asked.

"Well the first thing you should know is that my name is Leo Shane." answered Leo.

"You're a Shane! So that means your Eli's son. I should have known after seeing you take out those targets." commented Stalker. Leo was about to speak when the man he bumped into before had just bumped into Stalker. Stalker turned around & said "Watch where you're going, bud."

"Sorry I lost my footing." apologized the man as he walked away & stared at Leo, who thought that there was something familiar about the man.

After that Stalker & Leo chatted for a little bit. Stalker asked how Eli was doing & what slugs does Leo have. Leo asked Stalker about his days as a slug hunter & why did he retire & build the great shouting range.

After an hour Garo, Leo, Quiver, & Christi took a spot. The spot had a circular couch with a table in the middle. They ordered a pizza from the restaurant and ate there talking about where they lived & who taught then to duel, while their slugs either are pizza or goofed around them. As Leo laughed at Garo's joke he noticed the man pass by watching them, or at least watching Leo.

"There's something about that guy." said Leo under his breath.

"What was that?" asked Quiver.

"That man over there. He's been watching me the entire time we've been here." explained Leo as he watched the man walk around.

"Maybe he's not part of the Shane Fan Club." suggested Christi.

"I don't think so." said Leo. But the truth was that he sensed that the man wasn't a threat to him, and sensing that kind of thing is one of the abilities of the Shadow Clan, but rather the man was just watching him.

"But I need to check him out." said Leo as he picked up his slugs & walked off to follow the man.

"Where are you going?" asked Quiver.

"I need to find out why this guy is watching me." answered Leo. Garo stood up gathered his slugs & said "Here let's is help if he's just watching you then he won't notice us." Leo nodded & smiled in agreement.

After that the 4 of them split up & they followed & watched the man from afar. Eventually the man walked into the sparing arena. Leo & the others gathered at the entrance.

"Ok guys let's find out what he wants." said Leo as he loaded Magma into his blaster. They walked in where the man stood there his back turned. Leo crept up behind him & as he was about to take aim the man spoke "Next time you try spying on someone don't have a Cave Troll with you, he's rather easy to spot."

Leo immediately took aim when the named turned around and swiped Leo's blaster & aimed it at him. Garo, Christi, & Quiver immediately took aim at the man. "I don't want to hurt you." said he man.

"Then why are you watching me?" asked Leo as he raised his hands.

"I'm not watching you, you were watching me." snapped the man.

"Who are you anyway?" asked Leo as he poked the man's shoulder , and then he felt the all too familiar energy ruminating from the man, yet another Shadow Clan ability.

Leo stepped back & he put his hands down. "You have to be kindling me! You still don't trust me!" yelled Leo.

"What are you talking about?" asked the man.

"Don't play dumb I'm already upset with you ... Dad!" declared Leo.

The man frowned and nodded to the Dirt Urchin on his shoulder. The dirt Urchin poofed up red dust & it transformed into a Thugglet, the Flaringo turned into Burpy, & the man transformed back into Eli. Leo's friends put down their blasters after realizing what just happened.

"I should have known that you would see past my disguise." said Eli with a cheerful tone.

Leo snatched his blaster out of Eli's hand & stared at Eli with an intense & disapproving look. "I can't believe you. I thought you trusted me." complained Leo.

"I do trust you." said Eli

"No you don't if you did you wouldn't be watching me & use a Thugglet slug to hide yourself!" yelled Leo.

Eli took a breath "Okay, I still don't feel like you are safe going where you want unsupervised." explained Eli

"I'm not a child anymore. I can handle myself." snapped Leo "And I'm going to prove it to you."

"How?" asked Eli

"Eli Shane, I challenge you to a duel!" declared Leo.

In about 5 minutes Leo prepared to duel Eli, as they got ready Stalker gathered a crowd of people to circle around the arena.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" asked a nervous Christi.

"Yes I'm sure. I have to do this or my dad will never leave me alone." answered Leo as he walked into the arena & stood there opposite of Eli.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" asked Eli. Leo just nodded his head. Stalker spoke up announcing "Okay everyone for today we have Eli Shane versus Leo Shane! And I can tell you this, this duel will be one to remember!" After he had finished he shot a Hot Rock in the air to signal the Shanes to begin.

Eli allowed Leo to load & fire Trip at him. But Eli just fired Suds who deflected Trip back at Leo, who jumped out of the way. Leo then loaded SparkPlug & fired him at Eli. But Eli fired Banger who smashed into SparkPlug & then charged toward Leo, who barely dove out of the way.

"Come on Leo!" yelled Christi

While that happened Eli loaded Chiller & fired him at Leo. Leo quickly reacted by firing Soaker. Soaker blasted water at Chiller's freezing breath creating a giant ice wall between Eli & Leo. But before Leo could do anything a Rammstone smashed through the ice & almost clobbered Leo, but he had ducked down but when he looked back up Bugsy flew by & picked him up & threw him at the wall. Leo stood back up saying "Is that all you got?"

Eli loaded Rocky & fired him at Leo. Rocky exploded just before smashing into Leo creating allot of dust. Eli watched intently at the cloud of dust eventually the dust cleared to reveal a wall of green crystals, suggesting that Leo used Prize to stop the attack. Eli was surprised at this and as he stood there in surprise Leo leaped out & fired Bomb who exploded right at Eli's feet sending him flying backwards.

"Yeah that's it!" cheered Garo

As Eli got back on his feet Leo fired Smasher who punched Eli right in the gut. As Eli caught his breath Leo loaded Save "Time to finish this." He said as he took aim.

Eli looked up seeing Leo loading Save. He picked up a slug tune with Burpy in it & loaded him. Leo fired Save at Eli & Eli launched Burpy at the oncoming Save, he went as far as to megamorph Burpy. Burpy let loose a powerful blast of flames at Save. Save desperately tried to flying through the flames but with one final blast of power the flames engulfed Save causing him to crash & turn back into protoform. Burpy then circled around Leo and then punched him sending him falling to the ground, knocking his blaster away, & knocking his slugs & slug tubes away.

Leo barely got to sit up when Eli had Joules aimed at his head, as the crowd & Leo's friends watched.

"Looks like I lost." said a disappointed Leo looking down at the ground in sadness.

Eli put away the blaster, reached behind his back, & said "Not exactly." Leo looked up in confusion. "You may have lost but you've showed me that you can hold yourself in a fight. So that means that you've earned my trust & earned yourself some freedom." explained Eli as he held out his hand to help Leo up. Leo took his hand & stood up as the crowd clapped & cheered for the Shanes.

"Great job, Leo!" cheered Christi. Leo smiled in gratitude at her.

"And Leo I'm sorry I didn't trust you before. So as an apology I'd like you to have this." said Eli holding out the Thugglet slug from before.

"Really I can have him?" asked Leo but the Thugglet chirped. "Oops I mean her."

"Yes you can have her." answered Eli has the Thugglet hopped onto Leo's hand.

"So this is your way of saying sorry?" asked Leo.

"Yes it is." answered Eli.

"Then that should be her name, Sorry." declared Leo as the Thugglet cheered for her new name.

"Cool slug." commented Quiver.

"I know right." said Leo in agreement. Leo turned back to face Eli.

"I guess I'll see you at home." said Eli as he made his way out of the arena.

"I can't believe you forgave him so easily." said Garo

"Yeah well my mom's not going to be very happy to hear that my dad was spying on his own son." said Leo with a smirk on his face & Save laughed at what Leo was getting at.


	7. Chapter 7

Mall Of Fame

The next morning after Eli & Leo dueled, Leo & his friends rode on their mechas & made their way to the Mall. As they rode Christi asked Leo "So what happened with your dad, yesterday?"

"Oh lets just say that I may have accidentally told my mom at dinner. And lets leave it at that the couch is not at all the most comfortable bed." explained Leo with a slight grin on his face as well as Save. Christi, Garo, Quiver laughed at Leo's answer.

After about 2 minutes they had arrived at the Mall. Leo stared at the Mall in awe "This place is amazing."

"You say that about every place we go to." said Christi.

"Yeah well that's what happens when your parents keep you in the sane cavern for so many years." snapped Leo. He jumped off his mecha and made his way inside. Leo & his friends probably walked past 3 stores when a crowd of people had surrounded them. Leo unaware of the situation readied his blaster.

"Are you Leo Shane?" asked one of them.

"Yeah, so what?" asked Leo. But the crowd cheered & shouted in joy at the news.

"It's true another Shane is here!" cheered one if the people as the crowd got closer & crammed against Leo & his friends.

"You must be the new Shane Gang?" asked one of the members. But neither Garo nor Quiver got to answer before they were swarmed by the fans.

A couple people went up to Christi & said "You must be his girlfriend!"

"Yea, wait. No! I'm not his." but she was caught off when the crowd swarmed her too.

While Leo & his friends struggled to get free of the crowd a boy, about 17 years old, stood at the end of the hall with another boy & girl, who were probably the same age, stood at his sides.

"Looks like there's competition now, huh Duncan." said the bot to the leader boy.

Duncan smirked "Don't worry their no competition as long as they have that fan section with them."

Leo & his friends continued to struggle to get free from the fans. Leo reached for a slug tube that contained Sorry. "Help get us out, Sorry." said Leo as he loaded her & pulled the trigger.

After he had launched her, Sorry created about 6 copies each of Leo & his friends. The crowd immediately went after the copies unsure which ones were real & while they did that the real Leo grabbed his fiends & pulled them into the nearest store, which was a pet shop.

Leo peered out through the window "It looks like we lost them."

"Thank goodness, I thought for sure that they would tear us apart." said a relieved Quiver as he sat down on the floor.

"Good thinking by using Sorry." commented Christi.

"Yeah it was a brilliant move." added Garo as both he & CaveIn caught their breaths. "But I don't get it who were those people?"

"Those are Shane Fans." answered Leo. "My dad told me about them their extremely persistent fans who get in the way, & they assume that their no trouble."

"No Trouble!" yelled Quiver as him & Loge watched a tank full of fish. "Those Shane Fans swarmed us, & they didn't even give us a chance to answer!" wined Quiver as he moved from fish tank to fish tank. "Oh & by the way, how long have you two been a couple?" asked Quiver as he pointed at Leo & Christi.

"We're not a couple!" snapped both Leo & Christi simultaneously.

Garo chuckled "Yeah sure you are." Save & Jinx were practically laughing their head off at Leo & Christi as Garo said this.

"But now what?" asked Garo "We can't go out there without being swarmed? What are we going to do?"

"Sorry." said Leo

"What are you apologizing for?" asked Quiver.

"What? No, I mean let's use Sorry to get out of here." explained Leo as he held out Sorry to them. He loaded Sorry in to a slug tune, then into his blaster, & he pulled the trigger.

After he had pulled the trigger Leo's & his friends' appearances made a complete transformation.

Garo was still a Cave Troll but he was in a mining uniform & his face turned a bit skinnier. CaveIn, who was on Garo's shoulder, looked just like an Armashelt.

Quiver was still a Molenoid but his hair turned brown & spiky, his head looked fatter, and he wore regular mole cloths. Loge transformed to look like a Lariat.

Christi now had black hair that we tied back into a ponytail & her skin was about the same. Her cloths were different as well as her face. Jinx now looked just like a Negashade.

Leo looked at himself by seeing the reflection of the window, he had blond hair, dark skin, he looked buffer, his cloths were completely different, & there was no eye patch or sleeve in sight. Save however turned into a Fandango.

"This is so cool." said Leo after seeing that his left arm & eye actually look normal. He touched his eye but he could still feel the metal eye patch there. Save examined himself & chirped "Those this new body make me look fat?" Leo just gave a small laugh.

"Smart move Leo." commented Garo.

"Thanks, now let's get going. I need to get new things for my room. I can't take another night on the tiny bed I have at home." said Leo as he opened the door to let Garo & Christi out. "Are you coming?" Leo asked to Quiver, who was still examining the fish.

"No I think I'll stay here for a bit." answered Quiver as the tapped the glass.

Leo shut the door. "So where to?" he asked.

"Well I've been wanting to get new parts for my mecha." answered Garo

"I've been wanting to get new parts for my blaster." answered Christi.

"Then let's split up & meet back at the entrance if the pet shop." said Leo, Garo, & Christi walked off in different directions.

Garo made it to the mecha store. He immediately went inside, & like a kid in a candy store, he went nuts looking around & picking up things. Both he & the Armashelt CaveIn examined all sorts of parts.

Christi & the Negashade Jinx, however made it to the blaster store. She walked in & immediately stood there on awe at all the parts & blasters she could choose from.

Meanwhile Leo was making his way to the furniture store to get a new bed he passed up a couple of Shane Fans but they walked right past him. Leo smiled at this & finally entered the store. He wasn't in awe at what he was seeing the store was rather medium sized & was full of furniture from chairs to couches, they of course had beds, but they also had roosts & small furniture for slugs. Save was immediately filled with joy to see that.

Leo approached a roost that was being held up by a blue Mushroom. The roost had 3 levels to it. The bottom level appeared to have a small pool and what appeared to be a tiny weight room. The next level had a tiny trampoline in the floor, it also had a swing, a slide that led to the bottom level, & a stair case to the next level. The highest level had a small couch, a holder for slug food, & it just appeared to be the living room of the roost.

After examining it Leo's slugs all hopped out of their slug tubes or from Leo's backpack & they began to play around in the roost. Soaker immediately went for the pool he squirted water into it & hopped in. Weaver went to the outer wall of the roost & built a web swing. Soap laid back on the couch. Trip was enjoying himself on the trampoline along with Basher. Smasher was trying out the weights while SparkPlug tried out the tiny treadmill. Goop & Sorry we're enjoying themselves on the slides. Heat loved the swing as well as Star & Slips. Pierce & Prize were busy playing long of hill onto of the mushroom.

As Leo watched his slugs enjoy themselves one of the employees that worked there came up to Leo saying "Sorry sir but if you haven't bought it then your slugs can't play with it."

"That's ok, because I am buying it." said Leo & then he asked "So, how much is it?"

After about an hour, & after purchasing the slug roost & his new bed, Leo made his way back to the pet store. He passed up another group of Shane Fans but he got no trouble. He spotted his friends at the entrance to the pet store. He could see that Quiver had bought a medium sized fish tank with 3 fish inside, Garo had 3 bags full of what appeared to be parts & tool. Christi had a small bag at her side.

"So how'd the shopping go?" ashes Leo when he reached them.

"It was fantastic!" exemplified Garo "I got so many parts for my mecha-beast."

"And I got new parts for my blaster." answered a cherry Christi.

"Yes, this visit was very good." answered Quiver.

"Glad to hear it." said Leo. But just then a loud boom was heard from down the hall. "What was that?" asked Leo but he didn't wait for an answer he was already running to where the sound cane from.

He made it to the middle if the mall where 3 kids about 18 years old stood there blasting at the ceiling & nearby stores.

"Come out come out wherever you are!" yelled Duncan as he blasted a Hop Rock near some panicking people.

"Who is that?" asked Leo as his friends caught up to him.

"That's the Trouble Makers, & their leader Duncan." answered a man who was hiding behind a garbage can but then it was knocked away by a Rammstone.

"Come out here you cowards!" yelled Duncan

"I don't know who he's calling out but I can't stand here and do nothing." said Leo as he loaded his blaster & approached the Trouble Makers. "What are you doing?!" asked a serious toned Leo.

Duncan turned to face him "None of your business bub. Now get lost."

"No." said Leo

"What did you say?" asked Duncan

"I said No." repeated Leo "I can't have you blasting this Mall or these people."

"Yeah, & what are you going to do about it?" asked Duncan.

"How about a trick shot competition best 2 out of 3." suggested Leo.

Duncan grunted "No thanks kid unless your that Shane brat then I'm not going to waste my time with you."

Leo quickly thought of an idea "Here listen to this if I win you leave, but if you win I leave & you get my slugs." Duncan's face immediately light up.

"Your whole Arsenal?" asked Duncan

"Yeah my whole Arsenal." answered Leo, but then Garo pulled him to the side saying "Hey give us a minute."

"What are you doing?!" whispered an angry Garo.

"Why did you say that you'll give him all your slugs?" asked a furious Christi.

"Because it was the only way to get him to accept my challenge." answered Leo.

"But what if he beats you?" asked Quiver.

"Don't worry he won't." said Leo confidently as he walked back tostada Duncan & nodded that he was ready.

"Ok let's go kid." said Duncan as he fired a Dirt Urchin up in main ha way of the mall. The Dirt Urchin spun around & fired off a storm of needles at the walls, stores, & people. "Beat that." said an overconfident Duncan.

"Bring the heat, Slushy!" cheered Leo as he launched Slushy at the ceiling. Slushy spin around and blasted freezing snow at the same places where the Dirt Urchin had fired. When Slushy landed & turned back into protoform all the needles & the walls where gleaming with ice & snow give the place a Christmas like feel to it.

"1 point for me." declared Leo.

"Not bad kid, but now let's aim for that target." said Duncan as he pointed down the hall at a sign that was shaped as a target. "First slug to hit it wins." said Duncan as he landed a Speedstinger.

"Alright in that case, SparkPlug your up." said Leo as he loaded SparkPlug into his blaster. The 2 slingers took aim & fired at the same time.

The 2 slugs zoomed through the hall the Speedstinger actually speared like or was going to win but then SparkPlug let loose a bolt of lightning that shocked the Speedstinger causing it to crash on the floor & turn back into protoform allowing Leo to win. When SparkPlug hit the target and let loose electricity making the target glow.

"Looks like I win." said a victories Leo as Sorry hopped on his shoulder to see what was going on."

"No way kid!" said Duncan now aiming ha blaster at Leo. "You cheated! And now I'm taking my slugs!" he said angrily.

"Dude I won fair & square." said Leo but Duncan fired a Hot Rock at Leo. It exploded on impact & because Sorry was on his shoulder she hit her head against the wall & Leo's & his friends' disguises disappeared.

"Oh no." said Leo as he picked up Sorry & put her in a slug tube & then on to his bandolier.

"Wait you're the Shane brat." announced Duncan as he aimed at Leo. But before he could do anything the Shane Fans swarmed Leo & his friends once again.

"Wait! Move please I need to do something!" complained Leo as he struggled to get free.

The other 2 Trouble Makers approached Duncan. "What now?" asked the girl.

"Lets go & raid these stores before these groupies get tired of them." said Duncan as he walked off toward a nearby store.

Leo heard them & then he got an idea he loaded & fired Star at the ceiling. Star let loose a blast of light blinding the Trouble Makers, the Shane Fans, & Leo's friends. While everyone recovered Leo fired Sorry at the Trouble Makers. When everyone's eyes recover Leo, Garo, & Christi stood where the Trouble Makers would & before they knew it the Shane Fans swarmed them. Leaving 2 kids, a Cave Troll, & a Molenoid to stand there watching. The 4 of then walked out of the Mall with their bags.

"Gods thinking Leo." said the Cave Troll when the 4 of them reached their mechas one was a wolf mecha that had a trailer attached to it.

"Thanks." said Leo as his disguise disappeared & hopped on his mecha.

"So Leo I know you bought a bed but why did you get that big of a trailer to carry it?" asked Quiver as he jumped onto his mecha.

"Because I didn't just buy a bed." answered Leo as he started Walker and put him at a walk.

"So how long until the Fans realize that we left?" asked Christi

"Oh don't worry. Those fans aren't going to know that for a little while." answers Leo with a smirk & Sorry giggled.

Meanwhile the Trouble Makers, who appeared be the Leo and his friends, were struggling to get away from the Shane Fans.


	8. Chapter 8

Rescuing

This takes place 2 hours after Leo & his friends left the Mall & dropped off their stuff at home. They are now making their way to a nearby cavern.

"So Christi you never told us where we're going." said Leo as pulled up to her on Walker.

"We're going to one if the unnamed caverns." answered Christi.

"Why what's there?" asked Leo

"Well I've been hearing rumors of a strange slug called the Strang lives there." answered Christi as she sped up her mecha, she calls Skip. In about 3 minutes they made it to the cavern.

Leo looked around there were no buildings, it was all forest and streams, and there seemed to be no people there.

Save chirped "This place is pretty."

"It sure is." agreed Leo as he stepped off Walker & made his way to the forest.

Leo, Garo, Christi, & Quiver hiked around the forest for a little bit, hunting for slugs. Christi found an Aquabeek that was playing in a nearby stream, Garo found himself a Dirt Urchin, & Quiver found a Bubbaleone. Leo however was having some difficulty finding slugs.

"Where are they?" asked Leo who was starting to get frustrated.

"They're all over the place." answered Christi as she picked up an Arachnet slug. "Just curious but have you ever gone slug hunting before?" asked Christi as she placed the Arachnet in a slug tube.

Leo turned silent because the last time he went on a slug hunt he almost ended up dying.

"Are you ok?" asked a concerned Christi.

"What? Oh I'm fine. Anyway no I have never been on a real slug hunt." answered Leo in disappointment & embarrassment.

"Well all you have to do is find a slug & ask it if it would like to join your team." explained Christi. She looked around look and said "Look over there. There's a Negashade over there." said Christi pointing to a rock with a Negashade on it. Leo quickly ran over to it but the Negashade freaked out & ran. Leo looked around but then realized that he had lost it.

Christi walked up to him saying "You can't just run up to them. If you run they'll think your trying to hurt them." answered Christi as Jinx tapped her neck & chirped "Look over there!"

Leo turned to where Jinx was pointing too & on a small mushroom sat a Thresher slug.

Christi noticed what Jinx & Leo were looking at "What are you waiting for? Go ask that Thresher." ordered Christi.

Leo took a breath & calmly walked over to the Thresher. He took a knee & asked "You look like a cool little guy. How about joining my team?" asked Leo as he reached out his hand to the slug. The Thresher sat there looking at Leo & at his hand thinking. Save hopped down from Leo's shoulder & he was able to convince the slug to join them. The Thresher smiled & chirped "I'm in." The Thresher hopped into his hand.

"Glad to hear it." said Leo "So how about I call you Gasher?"

"I love it!" chirped the Thresher as Christi walked over.

"See nothing to it." she said with a smile.

Garo then yelled out "Hey guys get over here!" Leo, Christi, & Quiver walked over to where Garo was standing.

"What is it?" asked Leo. But Garo just pointed at a clearing.

Leo looked at the clearing and he could see a giant group of slingers each one of them had a gold H on their belts or on their cloths. They wondered around & carried barrels of slugs.

"Who are they?" asked Leo

"I don't know." answered Garo

"Well however they are they're clearing this place of slugs." said Quiver

"They're probably here for a Strang." suggested Leo as he watched the slingers gather up more slugs. "We need to stop them."

"But how?" asked Christi

"Well they'll have to use their mecha-beasts if they want to get these slugs out of here." said Leo

"What are you suggesting?" asked Garo.

"I'm suggesting, sabotage." clarified Leo as he crept toward the camp of slingers with his friends following close behind.

They stopped behind a rock & a couple busts near the mecha-beasts, there appeared to be 20 of them & 5 of them had trailers attached to them.

"Ok guys here's the plan." said Leo turning to face his friends. "Ok Quiver go it the other side of the camp & cause a distraction, I don't care what it is as long as they don't see you."

"I'm on it." said Quiver as he saluted.

"Alright, Christi stay here and spot Garo & I while we free the slugs & sabotage the mechas." ordered Leo as Quiver hurried off & the others readied themselves.

After about 2 minutes a loud boom was heard & a large fire had erupted on the other side of the camp. The slingers immediately grabbed buckets & ran to the stream to get water. A couple of them launched Aquabeeks, but thee the fire that was put out was soon replaced by more flames, curtsy of Quiver and his Flaringo & Hop Rock.

As the slingers fought the fire Leo crept up to the trailers, while Garo fiddled around with the mechas. Leo opened a trailer to see it full of slugs. "Don't worry I'm here to help. So keep it quiet." said Leo calmly so the slugs would stay quite.

Leo picked up 2 barrels & placed them on the ground & freeing the slugs. He grabbed the next 2 & the next finally he put the barrels down & freed the slugs he finally moved on to the 2nd trailer which ended up being empty. He moved to the 3rd and it had at least 3 barrels of slugs. Leo picked them up & freed the slugs. But a Flaringo hung back & stood by Leo's foot.

"Go on your free." said Leo trying to tap the Flaringo away with his hand, but the Flaringo chirped "But I want to join your team!"

"Oh my bad." apologized Leo as he let the Flaringo hop into his hand. "I'll call you Rocket." The Flaringo chirped & clapped his hands. Leo placed him in a slug tube he looked around to see Garo heading back into the bush & to see the slingers extinguishing the fire. Leo ran back into the bushes. As he got there Quiver appeared to be there too with Christi & Garo the 4 of them then crept back toward their mechas when they got there they sat on their mechas & took a breath out of relief.

"Great job guys. We did a great job." praised Leo

"You sure did." said a man's voice from the bushes. Before any of them could react the group of slingers from the camp surrounded them blasters ready.

A bulky man stepped forward blaster at his side. "Who are you kids?" he asked.

"Weird, I was wondering the same thing about you." sassed Leo as he put his hands up.

"Well it doesn't matter as long as we get what we want." said the man as a couple of slingers took Leo's & his friends' blasters. Then they snatched Leo's slugs.

"Hey give them back!" demanded Leo but the slingers aimed at his head.

"Since you took our slugs we'll be taking yours." said the man as one if the slingers snagged Save & put him in a slug barrel along with the rest of Leo's slugs. The man examined the slugs "This is your arsenal, only 19 slugs." complained the man as the other slingers took Christi's, Garo's, & Quiver's slugs. But then the man spotted Sorry, Prize, & Save. "These are some rare slugs, at least they'll pay for a good price." said the man with a smile & the slingers laughed at his joke.

"Now step off the mechas." ordered the man. Leo groggily stepped off Walker. "Good, now we'll be taking those mechas since ours seem to be in need of repairs." said the man looking at Garo as the slingers took their mechas away.

"There you have our blasters, mechas, & slugs now we can go." said Quiver trying to walk away but a slinger stepped in his way.

"Not quite." said the man "Since you've seen us you'll probably get the Shane Gang to help you, but that's not going to happen instead you 4 are going to work for us." he laughed at his remark.


	9. Chapter 9

Rescuing the Rescuers

After the slingers led Leo & his friends back to the camp they placed electric cuffs on their legs, so if they tried to escape they would be tazzed.

They then took Garo & made him fix the mecha-beasts. They took Christi and made her wash their blasters. And finally 6 of the slingers took Quiver & Leo over ti the side of the clearing.

"Alright, put these on." ordered one of the slingers as he handed Quiver & Leo black sweaters. They groggily put them on and that's when Leo noticed a targets painted on the sweaters.

"What are these for?" asked Quiver. But the slingers began their target practice & fired their slugs at Leo & Quiver. Leo quickly jumped out of the way but Quiver got clobbered by a Rammstone. As Leo got back up he got hit by a Hop Rock.

"Oh that hurt." said Leo as he picked himself up, he looked over to his left to see Quiver running to the bushes but one of the slingers activated his leg cuff & Quiver was tazzed. And then when the electricity shut off Quiver was hit by a Tazerling, & a slinger launched a Rammstone at Leo hitting him in the gut.

Meanwhile, Save & the rest of Leo's slugs were being carried in a slug barrel & carried off & placed by a couple large crates.

Save desperately let loose small blasts of energy to break free but to no avail. SparkPlug tried electrifying the tube but he just shocked the other slugs, Smasher stared banging his head against the tube, even Soap tried blowing bubbles but it was useless.

Save finally gave up but as he sat down he noticed a small figure moving around near the crates. The figure was some kind of slug the slug was rolling behind small pieces of grass & leaping behind rocks, it appeared to be trying to be stealthy like a ninja but the slug rolled around all clumsy like. The slug continued to roll around and act like a ninja it eventually rooked up to & crashed into the slug barrel. Save was now able to see the slug clearly.

The slug had the body shape of a Boon Doc but its head curved out ward so if you look a it from above it looks like a curved V. It was brown in color, with a light brown belly, it had 2 eyes, and a dark brown zigzag pattern on its back.

The slug looked at Save & the others slugs it chirped saying "Don't worry I'm here to save you, all ninja like." The slug tried to do a ninja pose, ti emphasize his point, but he ended up just falling backwards.

The slug got back up & jumped to the top of the slug barrel and slammed into the button releasing the slugs. Save & the other slugs hopped out of their slug tubes they thank the strange slug.

"Thanks for the help." said Star

"No problem it was my pleasure." said the slug trying to puff out his chest. "But we must get to the forest before these humans see us." said the slug as he rolled around & leaped behind grass & rocks again.

But Save & the other slugs just sect strait to the bushes and they actually passed the strange slug & made it to the bushes first.

"Good job keeping up." complemented the strange slug as he finally caught up with the group.

Save shook his head in disbelief & chirped "Uh, thanks again for the help."

"No problem, now let's get away from these humans." said the strange slug as it started to hop away, but he turned around to see Save & the others slugs stayed put. "Uh, did I miss something?" asked the slug.

Trip spoke up saying "Well our friend has been captured by these goons."

"Alright what kind of slug is he so I can find him?" asked the slug smiling trying to look confident.

"Um, he's not a slug." answered Heat. The strange slug's face turned upset.

"I don't believe it, I saved a bunch of pets." said the slug marching off.

But Basher jumped in his way & asked "What did you say?" with a threatening tone.

But before anything could happen Save stepped in between them, he gave Basher a stern look to back off, he them turned to the strange slug & said "We appreciate what you have done for us, you may go, but we cannot leave our friend behind."

The strange slug shook his head in disapproval "Why would you help a human? Humans don't even respect slugs like us, they see us as property not living things!"

Save sighed "I know that some humans can be like that, but our friend doesn't see us as property only as his team his friends." Save then hopped past the strange slug "And no matter what you think or say we will help him."

Save was about to lead the others away from the strange slug, but the strange slug spoke up asking "Does your friend wear a metal eye patch on his left eye?"

Save & the other slugs immediately stopped in their tracks they turned around to face the strange slug.

Prize then asked "How did you know about the eye patch?"

"This may sound strange, but I saw that human pass by earlier after he went to this camp, & when he passed me by I sensed positive slug energy & I felt the presence of the Shadow Clan, when I got near him." explained the strange slug.

Save hopped over to the strange slug & said "Yeah well your senses are right. You see about 5 years ago our friend got into a bad accident & the Shadow Clan were the only ones that knew how to save his life. And well they transferred their own energy into our friend making him part of the Shadow Clan."

"Is that true?" asked the strange slug. Save & the other slugs just nodded yes. The strange slug conversed the situation to himself & chirped "Ok, I'll take you to your friend."

Save smiled "Thanks."

"But I'm not doing it for the human or pets I'm doing it for the Shadow Clan." explained the strange slug as he led the group of slugs around the camp.

As they made their way around Save chirped "When we find our friend & save him we'll need his blaster."

"That shouldn't be too hard since it's right there." said Pierce pointing to the camp. Save looked to where he was pointing & he spotted Leo's blaster & bandolier sitting on a table but 2 slingers stood by the table talking.

Trip spoke up asked "That's not hard? There's slingers guarding it!"

Save pondered on what to do but the strange slug spoke up "Don't worry I have a plan."

After a minute Star hopped out of the bushes & came towards the slingers as she came near she flashed several times so they would notice.

"Check it out another slug to grab." said one of the slingers as Star got closer. The slinger bent down to pick up Star but then electricity surged through his body, he fell to side & passed out. The other slinger stepped back, totally confused of what just happened, but as he stepped back he sloped on a small sheet of ice. He fell back & hit his head making him pass out too.

After the slingers were unconscious Star, SparkPlug, & Slushy high fived each other & then made their way to the table where Save, Weaver, Trip, Sorry, Smasher, Basher, & the strange slug were waiting for them.

"Let's go." said Save as he climbed up the leg of the table with the Star, Trip, & the strange slug right behind him, except for Weaver who just spat weaving at the table & pulled himself up.

When the 5 of them made it to the top of the table they immediately went to the blaster& bandolier & they began to push then to the edge of the table. When they got there Save looked down to see SparkPlug, Basher, Smasher, Slushy, & Sorry waiting there to catch the blaster & bandolier. So they dropped them right over them.

They caught them & they began to hop back into the forest where the other slugs were waiting for them. Save & the others caught up to them & helped carry the blaster, which allowed then to get back into the bushes faster.

After they made it back & put down the blaster & bandolier Trip was the first one to collapse saying "That was so lucky."

"Not luck." said the strange slug "It was a plan devised by your's truly." Save shook his head in playful disbelief, as the 2 slingers at the table woke up.

About a minute a beat up & tired Leo dodged another Hop Rock. And Quiver was hit by a Jellyish. Then 3 of the slingers took aim at Leo they were about to pull the trigger when the man from before spoke up yelling "Hold your fire!" The slings obeyed & put down their blasters.

The man approached the exhausted Leo & asked "Where are they?"

But Leo was confused "Who's they?"

"Where are your slugs & where is that blaster?!" asked the man impatiently.

"Wait, you lost my slugs & blaster?" asked Leo with a smile.

"We did." answered the man. "But now we're going to get them back. Now tell me where you hide them?"

Leo laughed & answered "Sir, I've been with the slingers the entire time."

The man looked at the slingers, they nodded yes. The man turned back to Leo "Looks like your story checks out kid. But I will find those slugs." said the man as he walked off.

Meanwhile, Leo's slugs & the strange slug have finally found Leo. "There he is." said Heat,

Star looked over & chirped "What is with that sweater, that design is so boring & ugly." But then the 5 slingers there opened fired at Leo & Quiver.

"What are they doing?" asked Rocket

"They're humans it's what they do." said the strange slug disrespectfully.

"We have to do something." said Soaker.

"Yeah but what?" asked Sorry as she looked at the blaster. "Wait, I have an idea." She then hopped into the blaster. "Ok guys shoot me."

Save & the slugs understood her plan, they aimed the blaster at the slingers, & Smasher pushed the trigger sending Sorry at the slingers.

She velacimorphed & she created an allusion of the man that captured Leo & his friends. The allusion man walked over to the slingers & it told them to leave. They left leaving the allusion, Leo, & Quiver standing there.

"What do you want?" asked a serious Leo.

"To help." answered the allusion man as it disappeared to reveal a protoform Sorry.

"Sorry! I'm so glad to see you." said Leo as he picked up Sorry while SparkPlug made his way to Quiver. SparkPlug electrified the cuff & it piped off & then he electrified Leo's cuff. Leo picked up SparkPlug & him & Quiver ran & ducked behind the bushes, where Save & the other slugs were waiting for them.

"Guys you're all here & safe." said a thrilled Leo as he took off the ugly sweater & put on his bandolier.

"Great to have you back." said Save as he hopped into Leo's shoulder.

"How did you guys escape?" asked Leo as he picked up his blaster.

Basher pushed forward the strange slug and chirped "He helped us." The strange slug backed up as Leo smiled at him.

"Thank you for returning my friends to me." thanked Leo & the strange slug's fear immediately went away. "So where's Christi & Garo?"

"Don't know?" answered Save.

"Well we better find them before they realize that we're missing." said Leo as he crept through the bushes to find Garo & Christi as well as their blasters & slugs.

They crept around & they eventually found Garo fixing the last mecha-beast that he broke. Leo used SparkPlug to remove Garo's cuff & they crept around the camp some more, before finding the other slugs & blasters. Leo picked up Christi's slugs & told them to hop into his backpack until they could find her.

Eventually they stopped "Where is she?" asked Save

"I don't know but we better hurry." answered Quiver.

"Yeah." agreed Garo

Just then they heard the man's voice boom saying "Hey kid! If you want to see your girlfriend alive then get over here right now!"

Leo peered through the bush the man had his blaster aimed right at Christi's head, but the man was looking away from him suggesting that he had no clue where Leo is.

"You have 3 seconds!" declared the man "1...2...thr Ahhh!" he screamed as Smasher punched him in the gut. And Prize created a crystal done around Christi to protect her.

The man got back up & saw Leo loading Slushy & firing at him. The man leaped out of the way but Slushy froze 2 of the 20 slingers. The man fired a Rammstone but the Rammstone was knocked away by Garo's Rammstone. Quiver launched Loge who slammed into a slinger & covered him in goo leaving him stuck to the ground. While that happened Leo ran up to the crystal dome & fired Basher at it to let Christi out.

As Christi stepped out her slugs swarmed her chirping in relief "Great to have you guys back." said Christi as SparkPlug electrified her cuff, thus freeing her. Leo handed her her blaster. Just then 3 slingers ran at Leo blasters loaded & ready. Christi quickly reacted by loading Jinx & firing her at the slingers. Jinx slammed into them and when they pulled their triggers their blasters taxed them they fell wangled backwards but they ended up slipping on their own feet.

"Nice." complemented Leo as he launched Heat at a slinger. Heat exploded and the slinger let go of his blaster and it slide & stopped by the strange slug who has been watching the battle the entire time. But as Leo & his friends appeared to be winning the remaining slingers and the man surrounded Leo & his friends.

"That's not good." said Smasher as he hopped next to the strange slug.

"No it's not." said the strange slug as he hoped into the blaster. "Fire me."

"What?" asked a confused Smasher

"Don't ask just do it." ordered the strange slug. Smasher just shrugged his shoulders & pushed the trigger sending the slug flying at the slingers who now were circled around Leo & his friends.

The slug flew through the air & then he velacimorphed. He was completely brown has a tiny thin body but a large head that looks just like a boomerang.

As he flew closer at the slingers he began to spin and he hit the slingers hands causing them to drop their blasters. The slug circled back around & hit 7 of them in the head making them pass out.

While that happened the remaining slingers went after their blasters but they were either slugged by Leo or his friends or hit by the strange boomerang like slug.

Eventually Leo & the others surrounded the remaining slingers, as the boomerang slug turned back to protoform & landed on Leo's shoulder. "Surrender." ordered Leo.

But the man smirked he & the other slingers fired a group of Phosphoro slugs. The flash of light from the Phosphoros blinded Leo & everyone else for about 3 minutes.

When Leo got his vision back Leo looked around to see that the slingers fled, but they left behind a couple of slug barrels, crates, & mecha-beasts. "Looks like they got away." said Christi as she picked up her slugs.

"I guess so." said Garo

"That's ok." said Leo "They didn't take any slugs & we're all okay." Leo then looked down at the strange slug. "Thanks to this guy." said Leo.

"Yeah well your welcome." said the strange slug.

Christi awed at the strange slug "Guys do you know what kind of slug this is?" asked Christi with excitement in her voice.

"Um, no." answered Quiver

"Guys, that's the Strang slug!" clarified Christi.

"No way." said Garo

Save was shocked "Wait you're a Strang! Why didn't you tell us?"

"You never asked." answered the Strang.

Leo smiled at the Strang "I saw what you did today. You're a very brave slug." commented Leo. "I'd like have you as part of my team." requested Leo as he raised his hand to the Strang.

This surprised the Strang he stared at Leo's hand & stood there pondering. Save eventually asked "What are you waiting for? You're our friend, we won't hurt you. Well except for Basher."

The Strang smiled and hopped into Leo's hand. "Glad to have you." said Leo as he picked up the Strang. "Now how do you like the name Return?" asked Leo.

"I love it!" yelled Return as he leaped into a slug tube that was next to Basher.

"So how does it feel to be a pet?" teased Basher to Return, who just shrugged his shoulders & gave an embarrassed smile.

Garo yawned and said "Man, I'm beat."

"So am I, let's go home." suggested Leo as he walked over to his mecha.

"Thank goodness!" cheered Quiver "I've got to get ointment on these burns & bruises." said Quiver as he hopped on his mecha, & they all sped away for home.


	10. Chapter 10

Fun & Games

This takes place 3 days after Leo & his friends went on a slug hunt.

"I said I was sorry." apologized Garo to an upset & bruised Leo, as the 4 of them rode to SlugIt. "I really screwed up, didn't I?" said Garo under his breath as he thought about what had happened earlier that day.

(Earlier That Same Day)

Leo had just ordered a soda from the restaurant at the SlugIt and he sat down at his friends' favorite spot to hang out, as Leo sat down he was electrocuted. Leo jumped off the seat to see a Tazerling laughing, it was siting where he was about to sit.

Garo laughed saying "Gotcha!"

"Yeah you got me." complemented Leo as him & Save laughed it off.

About 10 minutes later Leo walked out of the restroom when a bucket fell on top of him & spilled Jellyish goop all over him.

"Ah, gross." complained Leo, Save also gagged at the goop that covered him too, as Garo passed by laughing. "Nice prank Garo!" complimented Leo as he walked back inside the restroom to wash away the goop.

About another 10 minutes later Leo sat at the spot fiddling through a computer. Garo sneaked by and took his soda replacing it with a Flatulorhinkus. As Leo surfed the slugnet he reached for his drink, but instead he grabbed the Flatulorhinkus and raised it to his face, but when the slug got to his face it released a small cloud of stink right in Leo's face causing him to drop the slug & gag.

"Oh man, that's so foul!" complained Leo trying to breath as Garo pointed and laughed at him. "Nice Garo." said Leo laughing off the prank but clearly he & Save were getting tired of the pranks.

After that Garo finally left to go take care of something. And while he was gone Leo got up & practiced slinging with Gasher, Rocket, & Return. But Christi eventually got a call "Hey guys get over here!" she called to Leo & Quiver. "Look here." said Christi pointing to the computer screen that had Garo on it.

"Guys I need your help." requested Garo from the screen.

"What's the problem?" asked a concerned Leo.

"The Trouble Makers are here & their causing allot of trouble." answered Garo "I tried to stop them but the reason I came here was to get parts for my blaster, because it's been glitching up on me, anyway I tried to duel them but with a glitching blaster it didn't go to well."

"Don't worry Garo we're on our way." answered Leo. They ran to their mechas & they sprinted to Garo's location.

They made it to Garo's location in about 2 minutes. Leo hopped off his mecha as Garo ran to them.

"Where are they?" asked Leo to Garo.

"They're in there." said Garo pointing to an alley way.

"Ok let's go get them." ordered Leo as he loaded Trip into his blaster & walked toward the alley. Christi & Quiver were about follow when Garo stopped them & said "Wait guys, you don't want to go in there."

"Why not?" asked Christi "Oh, did you set this up just prank Leo?!"

"Shhhh, keep it down." requested Garo "And yes I did, & let me tell you that it's going to be hilarious! Come on I'll show ya." said Garo as he led Christi & Quiver up onto a roof top that overlooks the alley, with Leo slowing creeping down it.

"Ok guys here's the lay out." said Garo pointing to the opposite end of the alley. "I set up a trip wire that will pour goop on top of Leo & he'll end up slipping & fire his slug into the air, by accident, & the slug will crash into a bag full of feathers." explained Garo. "Oh and I set up a couple of hidden cameras to record this glorious prank."

"Are you sure about this? Leo's probably not going to be happy." said a quivering Quiver.

"Don't worry this is going to be great." assured Garo.

Meanwhile, Leo slowly walked through the alley, blaster ready. Leo passed up a back door and when he got 5 feet away from it. The door opened up & the Trouble Makers ran out, blasters ready.

"You showed up at the perfect time, Shane." said a threatening Duncan.

"I sure did." said Leo as he fired Trip at them. Duncan ducked to avoid Trip, but Trip tied around the other 2 slingers. Duncan stood back up & fired an Armashelt, which slammed into Leo sending him flying down the alley he land right next to the tripwire. Leo got to his knees & he loaded SparkPlug into his blaster.

Back up on the roof Garo & the others heard the blasters. Christi looked down at the alley seeing Duncan load a Hop Rock into his blaster. "You hired the Trouble Makers?!" asked a worried Christi

"What no, that's not part of the prank!" answered a scared Garo as he desperately began to get down the fire the exit to help Leo.

Back in the alley Duncan aimed at Leo. "Last time I saw you I was swarmed by a bunch of maniacs." said Duncan as he aimed his blaster.

Leo flinched & stepped back onto the tripwire. And goop immediately fell & covered him, but not Save who had hopped into a slug tube. Leo totally confused stepped back but he need up slipping and he fired SparkPlug straight into the air. SparkPlug velacimorphed and slammed right into the hanging bag of feathers. The feathers dropped down & covered Leo, as that happened SparkPlug then crashed into a pipe & ratcheted back at Leo. He tried to stop himself but he slammed into Leo electrifying him.

Duncan laughed his head off watching this, he fired his Armashelt at a confused & stunned Leo. The Armashelt smashed right into Leo, sending him crashing into a wall & passing out.

"Looks like I win!" declared Duncan looking up. He then noticed Garo's hidden camera. He smirked & fired an Arachnet the slug grabbed the camera & pulled it down into Duncan's hand.

Garo & the others finally got down to the street & ran to the feathered & unconscious Leo, as Duncan left with his friends right behind him.

"Leo are you ok?" asked a panicking Garo, but he got no answer from his hurt friend.

(Back To Present Time)

A cleaned up but bruised & humiliated Leo arrived back to the SlugIt. "I said I was sorry." repeated Garo as Leo hopped off Walker.

The 4 of them entered the building. As they entered they saw a crowd of people surrounding the television screens, which are scattered through the building, & they were laughing their heads off.

"What's so funny?" asked a curious Leo to a laughing Stalker.

"You are!" answered a chuckling Stalker pointing to the screen. And on the screen was a video of Leo getting covered in goo & feathers and then getting slugged by SparkPlug and by a Armashelt. Leo turned and stared angrily at a regretful Garo as the crowd roared in laughter.

About 30 minutes later, Leo has locked himself in his room at home. Trixie stood at his door "Come on out. I'm sure it wasn't that bad." she comforted, but Tim burst into laughter as the same video popped onto the television. "Shut that TV off!" ordered Trixie. Tim immediately turned quiet & shot off the TV.

"Mom, just leave Leo alone." suggested Sydney, who was seated on the couch texting.

Trixie ignored Sydney & she knocked on the door saying "Come on out. It wasn't that bad."

Eli walked by & said "Sydney's right leave him be for now." Trixie looked at him with worry. "Don't worry." continued Eli "He's not hurt. He's just upset, he'll get over it." After he said that the bell to the front door rang.

Trixie walked over to the door & opened it to see Garo standing there with a small box in his hands & with Quiver & Christi standing behind him. "Hello, Mrs. Shane." greeted Garo.

"Hello Garo, Quiver, Christi." greeted Trixie

"Leo home? I'd like to talk to him." requested a depressed & regretful Garo.

"Yes he's home, he's up on his room." answered Trixie as she gestered for the 3 kids to step inside.

"Hey guys." greeted Tim.

"Hey Tim." said a cheerful Christi as she walked over to him.

Garo walked up the stairs & to where Eli was standing by the door to Leo's room. "Good luck." said Eli to Garo as he unlocked the door to let Garo inside.

Garo walked into the room he looked around to see that the room was pretty big Leo's slugs were playing around the room the room had a medium sized bed, a computer, a closet, a dresser, the walls were covered in posters of famous slingers & slugs, but there at the desk in the corner of the room sat Leo, his back turned at Garo.

"How you doing?" asked a nervous Garo, but Leo didn't answer him.

"Look I'm really sorry about what happened. I didn't mean for that video to get on the slugnet. And as an apology I went out & found you this." said Garo as he opened the box & a Gazzer slug poked out & jumped onto the desk with a giant smile on his face.

Leo however didn't pay it any attention. The Gazzer's smile disappeared into disappointment, because he was looking forward to meeting Leo after hearing from Garo about how much of a great person he is, but Save hopped onto the desk & invited the Gazzer to meet the other slugs. The Gazzer's smile returned & the 2 of them hopped off to meet the rest of the team.

Meanwhile, back in the main part of the house Trixie & Eli were talking & all of the kids including Leo's friends had left for the game room. Trixie then made her way to the steps saying "This is ridiculous I'm going get those 2 to make up."

But Eli stopped her from getting to the stairs. "Don't go up there. Let them figure it out." said Eli.

"Eli, this is ridicules I mean one accident & they're upset!" said Trixie

"Don't worry. If they're really friends then they'll figure it out. So think of this as a teaching moment." explained Eli. After he had said this the phone rang. Eli walked over & picked it up "Hello...Yes, this is Eli...Really...I'm sorry but I'm 5 hours away, but I'll have a team out there to assist you...Don't worry they'll get the job done...Ok, goodbye." said Eli as he hung up the phone.

"What has that?" asked Trixie

"The teaching moment." answered Eli & he went up the stairs & into Leo's room. He opened the door to see Garo trying to apologize, but Leo had his back to him. "Ok guys I have to stop this army of goons over at Luminous Cavern. But those guys called the Trouble Makers are causing some of their own trouble. So I need you guys to go & stop them."

Leo finally spoke up asking "Fine, I'll get Christi & Quiver ready."

"Sorry, but I need Christi & Quiver to help with the problem at Luminos." said Eli

Leo didn't answer he just got up, picked up all his slugs except for the Gazzer, & he made his way out the door. "Aren't forgetting one?" chirped Save. Leo sighed, picked up the Gazzer, & placed him in a slug tube.

"Ok lets go." said Garo but Leo didn't even give him a sideways glance as he walked out.

After that Garo & Leo left to confront the Trouble Makers. As they neared the cavern Garo asked Leo "So how do we plan on doing this?"

Leo didn't answer at first he then said "You head in first & charge right at them with your mecha. While I circle by & slug em."

They made it to the cavern & they could clearly see the Trouble Makers blasting the buildings & spray painting walls. Garo stuck to the plan & charged right at them with his Rhino mecha named Charger.

Garo screamed & fired slugs as he charged at the Trouble Makers. His Jellyish slammed into the boy as he ran past Duncan nearly hitting him with Charger. Garo then fired his Hop Rock at Duncan, who dodged the attack, but the Hop Rock hit the girl. Duncan got back up & fired his Frostcrawler. The slug froze the ground causing Charger to slip & crash into a wall. Garo hopped off Charger & he loaded his Polero when he got hit by a Rammstone from one the Trouble Makers. Garo was smashed through the wall & he accidentally fired the Polero. "Oh that hurt." said Garo as he picked himself up & took cover behind the rubble.

Garo looked around for Leo "Where is he?" he asked as one of the Trouble Makers fired a Hop Rock at him, but missed. Garo loaded & fired his Arachnet, who was able to tie up the boy Trouble Maker in webbing.

Meanwhile, Leo watched sadly away from harm at Garo who was struggling to fight the Trouble Makers, but he wasn't smiling the reason he came up with that plan was so Garo could learn his lesson while he watched, but concern was appearing on his face. Save noticed this & chirped "At least help him!"

Leo sighed & revved up Walker & they bolted toward the battle. By now Garo had just launched his Flaringo, Rammstone, & Armashelt at the Trouble Makers. Leo sped up & fired Pierce, who sprayed needles at the Trouble Makers causing them to back away from Garo. Leo then fired Smasher who was able to hit all three of the Trouble Makers. Leo finally hopped off Walker & fired Soap at Duncan who dodged it, but Soap dod manage to slam into the boy.

Leo leaped over to Garo "We have to get cover!" yelled Leo.

"I know." said Garo as he fired a Thresher. The 2 of them ran behind a large pile of rubble.

"Ok on 3 we jump out & fire." ordered Leo.

"Wait how do I know if you're going to follow through with this plan?" asked Garo as the Trouble Makers continued to fire slugs at them.

"Fine." said an annoyed Leo as he fired Sorry, who created 2 allusions one of Leo & one of Garo. "When these allusions run we fire." explained Leo.

Garo gave him a nod in agreement. The allusions then ran at opposite directions & the Trouble Makers immediately fired at them but they were missing them. Leo & Garo stood over the pile & fired at them. Garo then shot CaveIn, a Hop Rock, and a Flatulorinkus at the confused the Trouble Makers while Leo fired Gasher, Heat, & Bomb at them. The Trouble Makers dodged 2 of the slugs that were fired at them but the rest hit their mark.

"Do you surrender?" asked Leo.

"No way." answered Duncan as he loaded & fired a Grenuke. The Grenuke exploded sending Garo crashing into the wall & sending Leo flying & crashing into the street. As Leo flew through the air & as he hit the ground his back pack was sent flying & many of his slug tubes, which contained his slugs, flew off in every direction, leaving Leo with only Save & the Gazzer. Leo got back up & leaped out of the way of a Lavalynx. He then ran & took cover behind a building. Leo peered out to see the Trouble Makers firing at him. He pulled up Save's slug tube "Time to end this." said Leo as Save saluted & loaded him into the blaster. Leo then leaped out & fired Save.

Save transformed & flew right at the Trouble Makers. They noticed the Pulter slug flying at them & they each fired a Rammstone. Save managed to dodge 2 of them but the 3rd one hit him smack in the face, causing Save to turn back into protoform & crash into the ground. "Oh man." complained Leo as he checked to see that all he had left was the Gazzer.

Leo peered back at the duel to see the Trouble Makers aiming their blasters at a defeated Garo. "Surrender now Shane! Or we roast him!" threatened Duncan.

Leo had no idea what to do. He looked at the Gazzer & then back to Garo. Leo then gave in he picked up the Gazzer "You better finish this." he ordered, the Gazzer smiled brightly & with confidence, Leo loaded him & fired him at the Trouble Makers.

The Gazzer reached velocity & transformed. The Gazzer then used his Stompchomp attack on Trouble Makers, and they instantly began to dance around uncontrollably. As they danced Duncan dropped the camera, that he had taken earlier, and when the camera hot the ground it instantly began to record the Trouble Makers dancing. "Make it stop! Make it stop!" demanded Duncan.

Leo didn't answer he just laughed as he helped a bruised Garo to his feet. "Nice slinging." complemented Garo

"Thanks." said Leo awkwardly. He then bent down to pick up his Gazzer "And thanks allot to you, Jokes." thanked Leo.

"So is that his name?" asked Garo

"Yeah, I think it fits well for being an apology for pranking me." answered Leo.

"Wait apology, so you mean that?" asked Garo till he was cut off by Leo who said "Yes, Garo I forgive you." Garo immediately light up & embraced Leo, but he was practically strangling him.

Garo put him down & they left for their mechas, Leo mean while picked up the camera noticing that it recorded everything, he then hopped onto Walker. "So you really forgive me?" asked Garo as he sat down on Charger but then he was electrocuted & he leaped off his seat to see SparkPlug laughing.

"I do forgive you!" yelled Leo as he revved up Walker & sprinted away.

"Get back here Shane! No body pranks me!" ordered Garo as he revved up Charger & sprinted after Leo.


	11. Chapter 11

**Please send me reviews and OCs.**

* * *

Sniffing Out a Thief

This takes place about a week after Leo & Garo dueled the Trouble Makers.

The lights were going down as a slug rancher turned on his electric fence to protect his slugs. As he walked off a shadowy figure snuck put from the forest & made its way towards the fence, it stopped & waited for the man to enter his home. Once he had gone inside the shadowy figure jumped over the fence & crept up to the slug pens. It looked in to see all of these slugs sleeping before it snatched theme up. The slugs immediately began to chirp for help. The man opened the door & walked over to the slug pens. He shut off the fence & checked the pens to see that every slug had gone missing.

(Early that next morning.)

"They just disappeared?" asked Leo to the rancher. The rancher just nodded his head. "Well don't worry we'll have your slugs back before you know it." assured Leo as he & his friends inspected around the pens & the fence.

"This fence is pretty short." said Quiver "It's possible that someone or something jumped over it."

"Maybe." said Leo as he looked around the pens. Save hopped down into them to look around, but he shook his head & chirped "There's nothing here."

"Hey guys I found something!" called Christi. Leo & the others came over to her. When they got to her Christi picked up & showed them a tiny badge with a gold H on it.

"We've seen that symbol before, haven't we?" asked Leo as Christi gave him the badge.

"Yeah, those goons that captured us had that symbol too." confirmed Garo.

"That's right." agreed Leo "So we have a small clue about who's behind this, but we need to find out who they are."

"And how do we do that?" asked Quiver.

Leo turned to Christi "Christi, can you look up any kind of clue about anyone who's seen that badge?" request Leo.

"I sure can." said Christi as she pulled out her computer. She searched around for about 3 minutes before she found something. "Ok guys. I didn't find the badge, but there allot of reports of missing slugs in a nearby cavern, not too far from here."

"Then lets go. There might be a connection between this robbery & those missing slugs." suggested Quiver.

"Agreed lets go." ordered Leo as they hopped onto their mechas & rode off to the nearby cavern.

They made it there pretty fast they looked around to see a medium sized city. "We're here." said Leo as he parked Walker.

"Yeah now where do we start searching?" asked Garo.

Leo looked around "Lets split up we'll cover more ground." suggested Christi.

"Good idea." commented Leo "Garo look around in the east part of town, Quiver check the south, Christi the north, & I got the west." ordered Leo. The 4 of them rode off to the different parts of town.

Christ stopped & decided to look around from atop of the roofs, Garo just rode around checking out the alleys & streets.

Quiver rode around until he heard something. "What was that?" he asked as he stopped his mecha. He then hopped off his mecha & asked Logie who sat in a slug tube "Did you hear that?" he asked as he began to sniff around, but he got no answer from Loge who was very confused about what Quiver had asked him.

Quiver continued to sniff around until he stopped at a wooden crate. He sniffed the crate & then said "There's something in there." He picked up a nearby pipe & forced opened the crate. After he had opened it he reached in & pulled out a slug barrel full of slugs. "What are these doing here?" he asked.

Meanwhile, Leo arrived at the west side of town. He parked Waller near a bar. "We'll start our search here." he told to his slugs as he got off Walker & walked towards the door, but he stopped & turned to look at a nearby dumpster. "

Do sense that?" he asked Save, who shook his head in agreement. Leo walked over to the dumpster, opened it, & looked inside.

He saw nothing but trash & rotting food, but he did sense the presence of slugs (a Shadow Clan ability). "Oh this is going to be gross." said Leo as he hopped into the dumpster, so he can search around, as he hopped in though his slugs hopped out of their slug tubes or from the bag to avoid dumpster diving. "Cowards." teased Leo as he began to move & search through the trash.

Leo was absolutely disgusted as he search but then he eventually found a large trash bag. He struggled to pull it up, because of how heavy it was, he placed out of the dumpster & he hopped out himself. Save & the other slugs hopped back to Leo but they were disgusted by the trash & smell that had made its way into the slug tubes, a couple of them nearly puked at the smell of it.

Leo didn't pay them any attention he was too busy trying to open the trash bag. He finally did get it open & inside was a slug barrel full of slugs. "Are you guys ok?" asked a dirty Leo.

"We're fine. We just want to go home." answered a Lariat.

"Where are your slingers?" asked Leo

"They live in this cavern. We can find then on our own." answered an Arachnet. Leo smiled & released the slugs. They thanked Leo for saving them & they hopped away, but a Flatulorinkus stated behind.

"You can go now. Go find your slinger." said Leo to the Flatulorinkus.

"I don't have a slinger." answered the slug.

"Really? In that case would you like to join my team?" asked Leo as he loaded his hand. The Flatulorinkus gladly accepted the offer & jumped into Leo's hand. "I'll name you Dumpster!" said Leo as he placed Dumpster on his shoulder so Save could introduce himself.

Back to Quiver. Quiver had just loaded the slug barrel to his mecha. As he secured the barrel however he was hit by a Bubbaleone which swallowed him & trapped him in its belly. "Hey! What's going on?!" asked a panic of Quiver as a slim person ran over & snatched the slug barrel. The person then fired a Lariat slug which shot a slime rope & pulled the figure up onto a roof. "Hey get back here!" ordered Quiver as the Bubbaleone popped & released him.

Quiver turned on his intercom "Guys I found the thief he's heading to the west side of town!"

Leo listened in "Where's he heading?" he asked but he didn't need an answer when the guy with a slug barrel duo of slugs jumped down landing right in front of him.

Leo observed the thief the thief is about 6 inches taller than Leo and he has brown hair & a black bandana on. His skin is a bit tan, he has a mask that covers his nose & mouth, and he's wearing a black jump suit, & black boots & gloves.

"Where are the slugs, kid?" he asked, his voice gave away that he is a guy & probably about 18 years old, as he aimed his blaster at Leo.

"Don't know probably back where they belong." answered Leo "But guessing that you know about those slugs makes you the slug thief. Am I right?"

"Why do you care? Your just a kid." asked the thief

"I may be a kid but I'm a Shane." answered Leo.

The thief immediately freaked, he wasn't quite sure if Leo was telling the truth but he wasn't going to take the chance, he fired an Arachnet at Leo. The slug fired a web & pinned Leo to the wall while the thief fired his Lariat & swung himself to roof tops.

Leo looked around to see if anyone was looking then he ripped away the webbing as if it was a dried out band aid. (Shadow Clan Ability). After he was free he hopped onto Walker & chased after the thief. Leo spotted him jumping from roof to roof. He then turned on his intercom "Guys I have eyes on the thief he's heading to north side of town!" said Leo

"I'll cut him off." answered Christi through the intercom.

"I'm on my way." answered Garo

"So am I." answered Quiver

Leo continued to chase down the thief, the thief finally noticed Leo chasing him down on the street. The thief sped up & jumped over to the next roof but when he was in midair he was suddenly swallowed by a velacimorphed Bubbaleone.

Leo turned the alley corner to see the Bubbaleone floating downward, with a captured thief, to Christi who stood there looking victorious. "Nice shot." complimented Leo. Christi smiled at the compliment, but her smiled disappeared when she smelled the terrible odder that Leo was giving off from the trash.

"You smell terrible! Did you jump in a dumpster?!" she asked as she plugged up her nose.

The thief began to laugh. "What's so funny?" asked Leo.

"Oh, just you adorable couple. I mean that was really a nice moment, but your BO got in the way!" answered the thief & he burst into laughter.

"We're not a couple!" snapped a blushing Christi.

"And secondly it's not BO, I had to dumpster dive in order to save the slugs that you stole." snapped Leo.

"Yeah about that. Why do you care? Their just slugs." said the thief ignorantly.

"Like I said I'm a Shane & I will not stand by as people like you go around & disrespect slugs!" snapped Leo as Garo & Quiver made it to them. "Now are you going to tell us where the rest of the slugs are or are we going to force you to tell us?" asked Leo

"I pick option...3." said the thief as he fired a Dirt Urchin that popped the Bubbaleone this freeing the thief. He then fired his Lariat again & it pulled him on top of the roof tops. "It was nice meeting you Shane!" called the thief "Oh by the way just so you know the name's Snatch!" declared the thief.

"Really you're a slug thief & your name is Snatch?" asked Christi. But Snatch didn't answer instead he took off running.

"Oh not this time." said Leo as he started Walker & chased after Snatch from the street. Leo turned the corner & looked around to see if he was by himself, when he knew no one was looking he jumped off Walker & he leaped against the wall & began to climb it like a gecko (Shadow Clan Ability). He made to the top of the roof & he began to chase after Snatch, as Christi, Garo, & Quiver had just got out the alley & were following from the street.

Snatch turned around to see Leo chasing after him. He then loaded & fired a Hop Rock. Leo dodged the slug & fired Rocket at him. Rocket crashed into Snatch from behind sending him flying to the next roof. Snatch quickly got back up & fired his Lariat at Leo. The Lariat covered Leo in slim & caused him to fall backwards. Snatch then took off running again. Leo managed to free himself from the slime, he loaded Dumpster. "Time to show me what you can do." said Leo encouragingly as he aimed his blaster. He took a breath & fired the Flatulorinkus, Dumpster velacimorphed & hit Snatch from behind & covering him in a gas of stink. Snatch dropped his blaster & gagged for air but he stepped back & fell off the roof. But just before he hit the ground he was saved by Weaver, who Leo launched, who had shot a web around Snatch's body, thus having him hang there in a cocoon & capturing him.

Leo hopped down from the roof, loaded Basher, & aimed his blaster at Snatch. "So are you going to me where the other slugs are?" asked a victorious Leo as his friends finally caught up to them.

About an hour after Leo got Snatch to a local prison, Leo & his friends and returned the slugs to the slug ranch. "Here's the last of em." said Garo as he brought over the last 2 slug barrels.

"Thank you, so much for all your help." thanked the rancher

"It was no problem." said Quiver.

Then rancher then walked off & picked up 4 slugs. "Here I want you kids to have these slugs." said the man as held the slugs out to show 4 Hoverbugs. "Here you can each have one." said the rancher as the Hoverbugs flew to them.

"Cool I've always wanted a Hoverbug." said Christi as she petted the slug's head.

Leo held his up "I'll call you Flight!" said Leo. The Hoverbug shook his head in agreement but his smile disappeared, as soon as he sniffed the air, he covered his nose & gagged. "Sorry I had to dumpster dive." explained Leo.

"Oh that's right." said Garo he then turned to the rancher "Do you mind if we borrow your Bubbaleones & Aquabeeks?" requested Garo

"I don't mind. But why do you need them?" asked the rancher.

Christi picked up several Bubbaleones & Aquabeeks "We need them to help out Leo." answered Christi as she put the slugs in slug tubes.

"Wait, help me with what?" asked Leo but Christi, Garo, & Quiver aimed their blasters at him.

"Help you get rid of that smell." answered Garo.

"Wait guys! I'm going home to shower!" yelled Leo

"Yeah but we can't take the smell anymore." explained Quiver.

Leo ran as his friends fired a giant group of Bubbaleones & Aquabeeks at him.


	12. Chapter 12

Strange

This takes place a week after Snatch was arrested.

"Ok everyone we will begin the Pro-Slingers' Competition very shortly!" announced the announcer.

"Did you here that?" asked Save who is perched on Leo's shoulder as he neared the giant arena.

"We need to hurry!" said Leo as he parked Walker near the giant arena & hopped off.

"Relax, the competition isn't going anywhere." said Sydney as she & Leo's friends parked their mechas.

"I know but we need to hurry to get our seats!" yelled Leo as he entered the arena.

"He's so excited, as if he's never seen a pro-slingers duel before." said Christi. But it was the truth the only expert slingers Leo ever saw was Eli & the Shane Gang.

Christi & the others entered the arena & they spouted Leo waiting for them on a balcony. They made their way too him "See we took our time & we made it." said Sydney as the first matches began.

Leo's & Save's face light up as he saw 4 individual duels take place. Leo's attention however went to a man who was around 24 years old. He has tan skin, he's slim but athletic, & he has brown hair. He's wearing a dark blue short with a black jacket & grey pants.

"Who is that?" asked Leo pointing to the man.

"Are you kidding?! That's Brian Dwin!" answered Christi "He's like one of the best slingers around."

"Really?" asked an interested Leo as he watched Brian defeat his opponent.

After that the competition continued Brian continued to win against his opponents with his impressive slugs & skills. In the pre semifinals match Brian fired a powerful Tazerling to win him the duel.

"That Tazerling of his is impressive." complimented Sydney as Brink & the Tazerling appeared on the giant screens.

"Yeah it is impressive." agreed Leo as he viewed the Tazerling it speared to be twitching & its eye balls appeared to be yellow.

"I can agree." said Christi as she fiddled on her computer "That Tazerling is strong, it has a high level of experience." Leo looked at the screen to see a horizontal bar that showed the level of the Tazerling & it appeared that its level is in the middle of the bar.

After that they watched the next couple of matches & then Brian won his semifinals match, but he didn't use his Tazerling.

So the finals arrived Brian readied himself as he walked into the arena. The announcer fired his Phosphoro to signal the duelers to begin. Brian immediately fired a Rammstone at the opposite slinger. The slinger avoided the slug & fired an Armashelt at Brian. Brian dodged the attack, loaded, & fired a Lavalynx. The slug sprayed lava all over the place & the lava trapped the slinger. The slinger fired a Frostcrawler to cool the lava creating rock & must. Brian quickly fired a Tormato who blew away the mist. The slinger then fired a Rammstone, Armashelt, & Grenuke at Brian. Brian smirked and loaded his Tazerling, who was growling & twitching around in its tube. Brian fired the Tazerling at the oncoming slugs. The Tazerling velacimorphed & raced past the slugs with great speed & it electrocuted the slugs at it passed by, causing them to turn back into protoforms. The Tazerling then flew to the top of the cavern & created a giant storm cloud that blasted lightning right at the opponent causing him to crash into the wall with a broken blaster.

"And the winner is Brian Dwin!" declared the announcer as Brian claimed a medal.

"That was amazing!" cheered Garo. They all cheered & agreed with Garo, except Leo.

Instead Leo was examining the Tazerling for he sensed something strange about the slug. "Christi, can you measure that Tazerling's level again?" he requested.

"Sure, but why?" I already measured its level earlier." said a confused Christi.

"Just do it." ordered Leo.

Christi obeyed & pulled out her computer. "No way!" she yelled as she stared at the screen. "Guys look here!" she said as she turned the computer to let everyone else to see. "That Tazerling's level is almost near megamorph! But it was nowhere near that level earlier!" explained a shocked Christi.

"I knew it! There's something wrong with that slug!" declared Leo "And we have to find out what."

"Ok how do you plan on doing that?" asked Garo

"Simple, we talk to the slinger that has the slug." answered Leo as he walked off to find Brian Dwin.

Leo, his friends, & Sydney walked around the stadium until they found the locker room, with 2 security guards standing by the entrance. "He's probably in there." suggested Quiver.

"Yeah but how do we get past the guards?" asked Garo

"Don't worry about that." answers Leo as he loaded Dumpster into his blaster.

"But what about when we get inside, Brian might try to hurt us if we get to nosy, & then he'll probably have the guards track us down?" asked Christi

"I got that covered too." answered Leo as Sorry hopped onto his shoulder. Leo then aimed his blaster & fired Dumpster who sprayed the guards with an awful gas causing them to pass out. Leo then fired Sorry who turned Leo & Christi back into the disguises that they used at the mall, Garo & Sydney became security guards, & Quiver became a very short & pudgy security guard. They walked out, moved the unconscious guards into a nearby closet, Garo & Sydney stood at the entrance as Leo & the others snuck into the locker room. When they entered Leo told Quiver to mole around & look for clues while he & Christi interrogate Brian. Quiver obeyed & snuck off to look around. Leo & Christi turned a corner & they spotted Brian talking to one of the slingers that lost earlier in the competition. "Excuse me Mr. Dwin." said Leo as he approached him.

"Hi, there." said Brian as he held out a signed photo of himself. "This is what you want right?" asked Brian

"Actually no image just wanted to ask you a couple of questions." explained Leo.

"Well ask away." answered Brian.

"Well you see sir we're Niobe slingers & we were hoping if you could give us some tips?" asked Leo

"Tips, huh? Ok, if you want to be a good slinger then you need quality slugs." answered Brian

"But what stands as quality?" asked Christi

"Well, quality for slugs means that the more powerful they are the better." answered Brian.

"Speaking of stronger slugs." said Leo "We noticed that your Tazerling seemed to be even more powerful in the last matches compared to when you used it earlier." Brian's face began to look a little nervous.

"Well that's because I used a different Tazerling!" answered Brian nervously

"Really then you don't mind if we see this stronger slug?" asked Leo

"Uh, sorry but that slug isn't here right now." answered Brian

"Not here?" asked Christi "You just used it."

"Well... Uh... Oh look at the time I have to get going!" said Brian as he checked his watch. "Sorry kids but I have to run. But just remember stronger slugs makes a better slinger!" he shouted as he exited the locker room.

"If he's not hiding something, then I'm going to need glasses." said Christi as Sorry's allusion disappeared.

"Yeah he is hiding something, and we need to find out what it is." agreed Leo

"Look what I found!" shouted Quiver as he ran up to Leo & Christi, & Garo entered the locker room. "Look here." he ordered as he held out a badge with a gold H on it.

"Where did you find this?" asked Leo

"In Brian's locker." answered Quiver "And I also found this." added Quiver as he held out a yellow slug tube, that has a yellow cover on top, & it has a yellow eyed Tazerling inside.

"That's the Tazerling!" declared Leo

"Yeah the one that's supposedly not here." said Christi.

"Just look at its eyes." said Sydney

"There is something wrong with this slug. We need to find out what." said Leo

"Yeah, so what's the next plan?" asked Garo

"Easy we follow Brian." answered Leo

After that they immediately left for their mecha-beats & they ride to the edge of the cavern where they found Brian in a rush to get somewhere. They followed him from afar, Leo had a velacimorphed Flight to follow from above is they wouldn't lose him & they could stay out of sight. They followed him for 30 minutes until he stopped at a hidden fortress.

The fortress is giant & surrounded by a giant wall with turrets installed all around it. "Lets go." said Leo as he popped out of the bushes but Garo grabbed him & pulled him back in the bushes.

"Are you crazy?" Garo asked "That wall isn't built to protect people it's meant to keep people out."

"So then how do we get in?" asked Christi.

Leo examined the wall "We can't get through it & we can't go over it without being noticed."

"So how are we getting inside?" asked Christi. Leo didn't answer instead he turned to face Quiver.

"What?" asked a nervous Quiver. But the next thing he knew was that Quiver is digging a tunnel. "How did you convince me to do this?" asked an annoyed Quiver.

"Don't complain, I mean you are a mole." said Leo

"I may be a mole but that doesn't mean I can just dig tunnels whenever you feel like it." complained Quiver as he continued to dig.

Quiver dug for another minute before he popped his head out of the ground & saw that they were past the wall & now in the building in a supply closet. "We're in." said Quiver as he crawled out of the hole with the others close behind.

"Great job, Quiver." complimented Leo.

"Alright, now what?" asked Christi.

"Now we go find answers." answered Leo as he opened the door to the supply closet. He looked around, walked out into the hall, & gestured that it was clear. The others joined him & they began to sneak around the building. Eventually found a metal door with 2 guards, with badges that have the gold H on it.

Save hopped over to them, stuck his tongue out, & mocked them. The guards got upset & chased after the Pulter slug only to be knocked out by Garo. They placed the unconscious guards in a nearby room, opened the metal door, & quietly entered. Leo looked around to see a wide room with Brian at the middle, who did not notice them enter. They quickly snuck behind some weird looking machines & tables to avoid being seen.

Leo peered over the machines to see Brian talking to a strange man, who sat at a desk. The man appears to be in his late 20s, he has pale skin, & dark blond hair. He's wearing a black shirt with black pants & boots, along with an orange gold jacket with a gold H placed on his bandolier which contains yellow slug tubes.

Leo turned to his friends & Sydney, he gestured for them to spread out & to be ready, he then loaded Basher into his blaster, while everyone else spread out.

"Did my improvements serve you well?" asked the strange man.

"It sure did." answered Brian "That's why I'm here, I'd like to have the rest of my slugs to be improved."

"Yes of course, but first I need to examine that Tazerling of yours, so that I can make sure it is stable." answered the strange man.

Brian reached to his bandolier to grab the Tazerling's yellow slug tube, only it wasn't there. He began to frantically look around his belt & blaster to see if it was there. Leo approached blaster aimed "Looking for something?" he asked as he held up the yellow slug tube with the Tazerling inside.

"Give that here kid." ordered Brian as he reached for his blaster, but Leo's blaster began to charge up, giving him the message to not to grab the blaster.

"Who are you?!" asked the strange man as he stood up from his desk.

"That depends. Who are you?" asked Leo

"Wait, I know you." said the strange man "You're that new Shane brat I've been hearing about. But how did a Shane find this place?"

"Easy he led me here." answered Leo gesturing to Brian.

"You led him here?!" asked the strange man angrily to Brian

"No I didn't!" pleaded Brian

"Actually you did, right after you rudely left the locker room when we were in the middle of a conversation." explained Leo as Sorry hopped onto his shoulder.

Brian was confused at first & then he realized "You were that kid that was asking me questions!" declared Brian

"Yeah, and I knew something was fishy after seeing this slug in battle." said Leo as he placed the fiddled the yellow slugs tube.

The strange man began to laugh "There's nothing fishy going in here. It's just business." he said as he approached Leo, who aimed his blaster at him. The man stopped "Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Hector Brink or just Brink. You see boy there is nothing wrong with that slug it merely has more power than it did before."

"Yeah power that can cause done real damage." said Leo angrily

"Yes they can." agreed the strange man as he pulled out his blaster & aimed it at Leo's head. "You see boy my slugs have been powered up with a special energy that makes turns them into my Hyper slugs."

"Hyper slugs?" asked Leo

"Yes, you see Hyper is my company that will power up any slug, for a price." answered Brink. "But because you are a Shane I can allow you to test out my system, & if you work for me you can get Hyper slugs for free." offered Brink.

"You want me to join you? No way, your using slugs for profit!" answered Leo

"You do realize that you are outnumbered here." said Brink as Brian loaded a Hyper Hop Rock and aimed his blaster at Leo. "So if I were you I would take the offer."

Leo pondered & answered "Na." After he had said that his friends & Sydney circled Brink & Brian blasters aimed & ready. "Looks like you're the ones outnumbered."

"So you think." said Brian. Just then the metal doors opened & a giant group of Hyper slingers stood there blasters aimed. Quiver freaked & fired at them causing everyone else to do the same. Brink grabbed Leo, snatched the Hyper Tazerling, & then threw him at the wall.

"Oh that hurt." said Leo as he picked himself up. Just then Brian fired a Hyper Grenuke at him, he dodged it as the slug exploded & created a giant hole that led to the hallway. "Guys through here!" called Leo. His friends & Sydney ran through the hole with Hyper slingers close behind but Sydney fired her Frostcrawler who froze ice over the hole.

They ran through the hall trying to get back to the tunnel. But Hyper slingers fired at them from behind. Garo fired his Arachnet who trapped several of the slingers in webbing. Christi fired her Frostcrawler who froze 5 of the slingers. And Sydney fired her Speedstinger which ratcheted and hit 7 of the slingers in the head causing then to pass out. "Nice shot." complimented Leo as they reached the closet.

"Thanks." said Sydney as they continued to fire slugs at the slingers, who were firing hyper slugs at them as well. "All right you guys get out of here!" she ordered

"Don't have to tell me twice." said Quiver as he hopped into the hole. Garo & Christi followed so after.

"I'll hold them back." said Sydney as her Jellyish hit a slinger.

"You better be right behind me." demanded Leo as he entered the tunnel.

By the time Leo got half way through the tunnel. Sydney fired Marina who used her Cyclonator attack to wash away the rest of the slingers. Sydney picked up Marina & then entered the tunnel.

Leo got out of the tunnel and ran to his mecha as Sydney exited the tunnel. Leo hopped onto Walker, he waited for Sydney to hop on hers, & then all 5 of them sprinted away.

"They're not giving chase." said Quiver

"That because we'll be back." responded Leo

"Why would we come back?" asked Garo

"Because we need to find out how they make slugs Hyper." answered Leo as they sprinted home.


	13. Chapter 13

Moling Around

"Day 1 of investigation." chirped Save as he looked through one of the lenses of a pair of binoculars. Trip was looking through the other.

"The enemy hasn't seen us." chirped Trip.

"Affirmative." agreed Save "Now is the time to strike."

Leo stood over them & asked "What are you doing?"

"Surveillance." answered Trip as Leo picked up the binoculars.

"Quite goofing around. Lets get going." ordered Leo as he picked up the 2 slugs.

"So what's the plan?" asked Christi.

"Quiver & I are going to sneak in there & search around for clues." answered Leo "So Christi you'll be our surveillance and tell us when it's clear to get inside & where the guards are." Save & Trip were not too happy with that. "Garo you'll have our mechas ready as well as your slugs just in case we need to make a quick getaway." explained Leo

"Got it." confirmed Garo

"You ready, Quiver?" asked Leo

"Um...no." answered Quiver

"Alright, let's go!" said Leo enthusiastically as he grabbed Quiver and headed toward the edge of the wall. When they got to the wall Leo attached a Silencer mod into his blaster.

Christi looked through the binoculars and spotted the guard, who stood onto of the wall & was nearest to Leo. She watched him move away then she gestured to Leo that the coast was clear.

Leo saw the signal & silently slinged Soap who velacimorphed. Leo & Quiver grabbed on to his tentacles & they quietly floated over the wall & then landed behind a pile of crates. "We're in." said Leo as he looked around.

He saw that it was clear so he & Quiver crept up to the side of the wall. "How do we get in?" asked Quiver when they got there.

Leo didn't answer he just silently fired Gasher at the wall. Gasher velacimorphed, he spread out his arms & spun clockwise to create a circular hole in the wall. Leo picked up the protoform Gasher as Quiver entered the hole.

Leo followed & they slowly & quietly snuck through the hallway. They searched several rooms but found nothing until Quiver smelled something strange. "Follow me, there's something this way." he said with Leo following close behind.

Quiver led them to a corner & there was a very large door being guarded by 5 guards. "Something very importance is in there." whispered Leo.

He then silently fired Gasher who once again created a hole in the wall. Leo entered the hole & he looked around to see a giant machine sitting on the middle of the room.

The machine was large & towered over them inside it appeared to be large amounts of gold crystals & electricity. Leo & Quiver moved behind a table & they watched as a Hyper slinger loaded a barrel full of terrified slugs, all of which are in yellow slug tubes, into the bottom of the machine. The slinger pulled a lever & the machine began to roar & power up & after 2 minutes the slinger opened the hatch & pulled out the newest Hyper slugs.

"So that's how they create them." said Save

"It's just like ghouling slugs." said Leo.

After he had said this a Hyper slinger entered the room with a shipment of slugs. The Hyper slinger has red orange hair, a yellow handkerchief on, & has a Hyper Flaringo perched on his shoulder. "Is that...Jack?!" asked a surprised Leo as he stood up.

The slingers & Jack heard him & they aimed their blasters at Leo. "Ops." said Leo as Jack realized who he was.

"What are you doing here, Shane?" asked Jack angrily

"Well what are you doing here?" asked Leo "Last time I saw you we were having a blast at the tournament."

"That was before I found out that you were a Shane!" answered Jack

"And what's wrong with that?" asked a confused Leo.

"Everything!" answered Jack as he slinged his Hyper Polero at Leo. But just before the slug hit him Loge smashed into the Polero & stopped its attack.

Quiver gave a war shout as he fired a Grenuke at the Hyper slingers. "Time to go!" he yelled.

Leo ran to the hole & leaped through it with Quiver close behind him. "We need to get out if here!" said Leo. He then turned on the intercom "Christi, Garo get ready we're going to need that quick getaway." he said as Jack & the Hyper slingers gave chase & fired Hyper slugs at them.

Leo fired Slushy who created a giant wall of ice to block the Hyper slingers' path. But the ice was quickly smashed by a Hyper Rammstone. Leo & Quiver ran for the wall they entered through. Just before they got to the wall a Hyper Grenuke smashed into it & created a giant hole. Leo & Quiver jumped over the ruble & made it outside. Jack & the Hyper slingers were close behind. Jack then fired a Hyper Tormato that created a tornado in between Leo & Quiver. Quiver was sent flying over the wall & Leo was blown to the side.

Leo then loaded Soaker & fired him at the Hyper slingers. But the slingers each fired Hyper Hop Rock who just smashed right past Soaker & then exploded as they made hit the ground or Leo. Leo loaded & launched Return. Return velacimorphed & flew at the slingers, but Jack fired a Thresher that cut right past Return. "Give up Shane!" ordered Jack as he loaded Rocket.

"No way!" answered Leo as he loaded Save. "Show them who's boss." said Leo to Save.

The 2 slingers took aim both looking angry & confident that they will win, Jack because he has Hyper slugs & Leo because Save easily defeated Scorch last time they dueled. The 2 slingers fired at each other. The 2 slugs velacimorphed and they each blasted either green energy or flames at the other. But Scorch's flames pushed back Save's energy blast like it was next there & the flames engulfed Save, causing him to crash & turn back into protoform. "Save!" yelled Leo as he ran to his slug.

He picked him up but then he was hit by a Hyper Armashelt, from Jack. "You can still surrender." said Jack as he aimed at Leo.

But then Leo was snatched up by a velacimorphed Hoverbug & it flew him over the wall, as Jack & the Hyper slingers opened fired at him. The Hoverbug flew him & dropped him on Walker. "Lets go!" ordered Christi as the Hoverbug turned into protoform & flew back into Christi's slug tube.

Leo didn't wait he revved up Walker & they all sprinted away. "That could have gone better." said Quiver.

"Yeah, those Hyper slugs are really powerful." said Leo "But I just don't understand why Jack is with them."

"Wait, Jack was there?!" asked Garo

"Yeah he was." answered Leo

"No way." said Christi

"Yeah, now lets get going. We need to tell the Shave Gang what we've found." said Leo as they sprinted off to the Shane Hideout.


	14. Chapter 14

Deserted

After Leo & his friends explained what they discovered about Hyper. Eli decided to help face the problem. And eventually Leo was able to convince Eli to agree to let him & his friends help out.

Now Eli has assigned Leo and his friends to raid a Hyper transport out in the western caverns.

Leo, seated on Walker, watched as the Hyper transport, 3 mecha-beasts each pulling a trailer, pass through a canyon. "Lets go!" yelled Leo as Walker hopped downward from rock to rock & then landing in front of the transport. Christi, Quiver, & Garo also hoped down & they surrounded the Hypers, blasters aimed at them. "Let these slugs go, or we let them go!" ordered Leo.

The Hyper slingers smirked before they fired Hyper slugs at Leo & his friends. They then returned fire & in the chaos a signal mecha & trailer sprinted away, with no driver, toward the open desert. "I'll stop that mecha!" yelled Leo as he started Walker & he chased after the rouge mecha-beast, leaving his friends to deal with the rest of them.

"Wait!" yelled Christi as the Hyper slingers continued to fire Hyper slugs, but Leo was already gone.

Leo chased after the mecha, he fired Bomb who exploded in front of the mecha. The mecha broke apart & fell on its side as well as the trailer near a sand cliff. Leo stopped Walker away from the trailer, he stepped off, approached the trailer blaster out, he then opened the trailer, & aimed his blaster only to see that it was completely empty of any life. "No way it was a decoy." said Leo in frustration.

"I guess so." chirped Save.

Just then the ground began to shake. "What was that?" asked Leo, but then his feet began to sink downward & before he knew it the sand slid downward creating a giant landslide, & Leo was swallowed up by the sand along with Save, the trailer, but not Walker. The sand carried Leo far out into the desert.

Back to his friends, they continued to fight the Hyper slingers. Garo launched CaveIn who smashed into the side of the canyon & created a rock slide that toppled over the slingers, trapping them. "That takes care of them." said Garo

"Yeah, let's get these guys to Stalagmite 18 (Got improved over the years so now it is 18 not 17). And then let's go find Leo." said Christi.

Meanwhile, Leo struggled to get out of the sand. He spit out sand. "Maybe, I should have used Trip instead of a slug that blows up." said Leo as he picked up Save from the sand.

He freed himself & then he emptied out his slug tunes of sand so his slugs could breathe & he did the same for his backpack. "Is everyone ok & accounted for?" asked Leo as he counted the slugs.

"We're all here!" chirped Save. Leo smiled with relief and then reached for his intercom but it was missing.

"Hey!" yelled Heat "Aren't you missing something?" he asked Leo

"Um do you mean the intercom." answered Leo. Heat then winked his left eye several times. Leo wasn't sure but he touched his left eye to see that he lost his metal eye patch, revealing a glowing green eye. "My eye patch!" he yelled as he frantically tried to dig through the dirt to find it. That's when he noticed that his silver sleeve was missing too. "No way I lost the sleeve too." he wined

"Get over it. It's not like anybody's here." chirped Basher

Leo picked up his slugs & then he looked around. "Are we lost?" asked Save

"What? No, I know where we are." answered Leo. He then spotted the trailer he walked over to it & opened it up, there were several crates inside. He searched the crates for anything useful. He found a raggedy cloak, an empty canteen, & he found a bunch of bandages. He put the cloak on, he tied the canteen to his belt, & he wrapped the bandages around his left eye & left arm. "All is good." said Leo trying to look confident, Save shook his head in disbelief.

Leo then searched around for anything else that seemed useful like water or his mecha, but he found nothing. "Well we can't stay here." said Save

"You're right lets get moving." agreed Leo. Leo then made his way through the barren desert, clearly he was lost, & unknown to him was that something very small is following him from under the sand.

As he walked on Christi, Garo, & Quiver searched for him. "Where is he?" asked Christi. "I can't get him on his intercom."

"No idea. But how far could he have gone?" asked Garo

"Guys I have his scent!" yelled Quiver, who was sniffing the ground. He then ran off to the sand cliff, the sane one that had a land slide, when they got there they immediately spotted Walker.

"There's his mecha." said Garo

"Yeah, but where's Leo?" asked Christi, she turned to face the desert that laid below them from the cliff. "Do you think he might have gone into the desert?"

"It's possible, but we can't be sure." answered Garo "Lets look around here some more and then spread the search out some more." They then spread out to search for their missing friend.

Meanwhile, Leo continued to tread through the sand, still unaware that he was being followed. He eventually heard the roar of mechas. "Do you hear that?" he asked Save.

But then 5 slingers on hyena mecha-beasts appeared & surrounded Leo, blasters aimed at him. The slingers were all wearing raggedy brown & white cloths & cloaks. They had their faces covered by clothe. "Who are you, & what do you want?" asked Leo

One of the slingers hopped down from his mecha, he was taller than Leo, a bit more muscular, & probably the leader of the group. "We want to know the same thing about you." answered the cloaked leader.

"Well I'm just wondering around, heard this place is beautiful this time of year." said a sarcastic Leo. But the slingers didn't like that answer instead they started to charge their blasters.

"That is not a good answer." snapped one of the cloaked slingers.

"Fine, my name's Leo Shadow." lied Leo so he can investigate this group. "And I'm lost in this desert."

Save smirked & chirped "I was right."

"Well Leo my name is Clark. And we can help you out." responded Clark. "For a price."

Leo stepped back "What is it you want?" he asked as he cautiously reached for his blaster.

"Not much, we'll lead you out of here in exchange you give us 4 of your slugs." answered Clark.

Leo grabbed his blaster but one of the cloaked slingers fired a Speedstinger, hit his hand, & sent the blaster sliding in front of Clark. Clark picked it up "And for your blaster." he said as he examined the Storm Raider GXZ.

"You're not getting my slugs or my blaster!" answered Leo

Clark laughed "You are in no position to make any choices right now." he said, he placed Leo's blaster on his hyena mecha. "Now since you don't want to pay for our services then we'll be taking...you."

After he said that Leo was tackled by several of the cloaked slingers. This surprised Leo's little follower & a Sand Angler (Leo's follower) popped out of sand because it was startled by the sudden excitement. They tied him up, took his slugs, placed him onto a mecha, & rode off into the desert but what they didn't know was that the Sand Angler decided to hitch a ride along with them.

Back to the cliff, a worried Christi rode Skip back to Garo & Quiver but Leo was not with them. "You guys didn't find him." she said in disappointment.

"Yeah." answered Garo "I think we should ask Eli for help."

"What? No!" answered Christi "If they find out that Leo went missing they'll find him sure, but they'll never go anywhere without a baby sitter." explained Christi

"I get it." said Garo "But what choice do we have?" he asked.

"Lets search the desert." answered Christi as she activated Walker to follow her & she drove her mecha down to the sand below.

Meanwhile, the desert slingers brought Leo to a small village. The houses are old, dirty, made of clay, & held up by stones & giant rocks. They took Leo and stood him by a hole in the ground. "So where are you taking me?" he asked but the slingers shoved him & he fell into the hole.

He fell & he landed on a giant pile of sand & he rolled down the pile. The slingers laughed as they walked away. Leo shook off the sand & looked around to find himself in a small dark dome made of stone & sand. "Who's there?" asked a nervous voice from near the wall of the dome.

Leo looked over to see a group of scared people sitting & standing around in the dome. "Who are you people?" asked Leo

One of them answered "We're prisoners of the Desert Sand."

"Desert Sand?" asked Leo

"The guys that just dragged you here." answered another prisoner.

"Oh that's who they are. But what is their problem?" asked Leo

"Their problem is the Shadow Clan." answered another prisoner.

"Why the Shadow Clan?" asked Leo

"These people are descendants of those that traveled through Shadow Clan territory. And when they were captured by the Shadow Clan then they were taken to this desert so either they would die or somehow survive." explained a prisoner.

Leo knew that the punishment for disrespecting the Shadow Clan was banishment to the desert. "So I'm guessing they decided to make a living here." guessed Leo

"Precisely." answered a prisoner. "They dream of speaking revenge on the Shadow Clan, but they haven't done anything to do about it."

"But why are you all here?" asked Leo

"We were either lost in the desert, traveling near it, or they captured us from our own caverns." answered another prisoner "Only because we refused to hand over our property, slugs, or gold."

"Yeah, I figured that part out already." responded Leo as a Sand Angler hopped down into the cave, unnoticed.

"Who are you anyway?" asked a prisoner

"I'm Leo Shane." answered Leo

"You're a Shane!" said the prisoners excitedly "So you're here to rescue us?!"

"I am now." said Leo. He then began to look around & devise a plan to get free. "Is there any kind of rope?" he asked. The prisoners all said no. That's when he noticed the Sand Angler. "Hey there." he said friendlily like to the slug. "What are you doing here?"

The Sand Angler explained that he was caught in a landslide & he has been following Leo the entire time. Leo then asked the slug if he could climb out of the hole & look for Save & the other slugs. The slug agreed to help so Leo chucked him out of the hole & the slug hopped away to search for Leo's slugs & blaster.

Meanwhile, Christi & the others rode their mechas through the desert "I found something!" yelled Garo, he stepped off Charger & reached into the sand & pulled out a metal eye patch & a silver sleeve.

"That's Leo's eye patch!" declared Christi

"It sure is." confirmed Garo as he placed the eye patch over his left eye.

"But if he doesn't have his eye patch...then something happened to him! Quick guys search around maybe he's still here!" ordered Christi

Back at the Desert Sand village the Sand Angler snuck his way around the place until he came upon a building & he heard chirping from inside. The slug burrowed through the clay, peered inside the building to see Clark holding up a slug tube with Save inside of it. "Someone will pay allot of money for you, my friend." said Clark.

Save growled & blasted a small wave of energy but to no avail. Clark laughed and placed Save into a slug barrel with the rest of Leo's slugs. The Sand Angler hopped over, jumped onto the barrel, & released Leo's slugs. They hopped out cheering & thanking the Sand Angler for his help. The Sand Angler then explained that he was asked by Leo to help them & that they need to find his blaster. They searched around the building & found Leo's blaster they picked it up & made their way back to Leo. They made it to the hole "Are you sure he's in there?" asked Prize, looking into the hole.

He unfortunately got to close to the edge & fell in only to fall into Leo's hand. "Thanks for dropping in." commented Leo

"Yeah, I just thought I would just drop by." responded Prize as the other slugs threw down his blaster & then hopped down themselves.

Leo was overjoyed to have them back, he picked them up, placed them in slug tubes, & then he picked up the Sand Angler "And thank you for all your help." he tanked. The Sand Angler smiled with glee for being appreciated. Leo then placed him on his shoulder alongside of Save. Then he explained his plan to the other prisoners. "Alright, the plan is to get out of here & over run these Desert Sand goons." explained Leo, the prisoners approved the plan.

He then fired Weaver who created a web that extends from the floor to the entrance of the hole. Leo climbed up the web with the other prisoners following him. He peered out of the hole to see the villagers of the Desert Sand just minding their own business & causing trouble. He jumped out of the wall & fired Weaver, who returned to him, at several of the slingers. The web pinned them to the wall, the other villagers turned around in shock, but they were overrun by prisoners. The prisoners snatched any blaster and slugs they could get & returned fire at the Desert Sand.

"Keep pushing them back!" ordered Leo as he fired Slushy, who froze several slingers. Leo & the prisoners continued to fire slugs at the retreating Desert Sand. Leo then fired Trip who was knocked away by an Armashelt.

"What's going on here?!" demanded Clark as he approached the raging battle. He spotted Leo, with his blaster, and he fired a Neotox at him. Leo quickly reacted & fired Soap who caught the Neotox in his belly.

The other Desert Slingers then fired a giant group of slugs at the prisoners at Leo. They continued to rain slugs down on them until they had them completely surrounded. "Give up!" ordered Clark.

"No way!" yelled a prisoner

"We have a Shane with us!" yelled another

"A Shane?" asked Clark then he looked at Leo who held up his blaster showing the Shane Star on it. Clark wasn't atoll happy about being lied to he fired his Grenuke at Leo. But before it made contact CaveIn knocked the Grenuke away.

"CaveIn?" asked Leo. Then his friends rode into the village & opened fired on the Desert Sand slingers.

Christi fired a Dirt Urchin who sprayed needles causing the Desert slingers to back off. "Perfect timing." thanked Leo as everyone continued to fire slugs at each other.

"No problem. And we found these." said Christi, handing over Leo's eye patch & sleeve.

"Thank goodness! These bandages are getting itchy & they're full of sand." said Leo as more slugs came flying at them. "We need to escape!"

"How are we going to get all these people out of here?" asked Quiver. But Garo came riding back to them with a trailer attached to his mecha.

"Everyone get in!" ordered Garo to the prisoners. They didn't hesitate they jumped right in or hung from the sides, Leo got back on Walker, he fired Save who cleared a path by blasting a giant wave of energy, & they sprinted away from the angry Desert Sand slingers.

"Thanks for the save guys." thanked a relieved Leo as they sprinted away.

"Any time." said Garo

"And thank you too." said Leo to the Sand Angler who hopped into his hand. "I'd love to have a slug like you. So what do you say?" asked Leo.

The Sand Angler chirped "Why not, I don't feel like crawling through the sand anymore anyway."

"Good point, PitFall." said Leo naming the slug as they all sprinted back to civilization.

After they left Leo returned all of the prisoners back to their friends & family.


	15. Chapter 15

**There will be characters from the SlugItOut App.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Slugterra or its characters.**

* * *

Lights, Camera, Action!

"This is amazing!" shouted Christi as she checked out all the camera equipment & the different sets of scenes & buildings.

"Cool right." said Trixie, picking up a pile of papers & handing it over to an intern.

"It sure is." agreed Garo

"Told you guys that you would like to see this." bragged Leo.

"It was a good idea, to bring us to help make a movie!" agreed Quiver as he gorged himself at the snack table.

"Well you guys aren't going to do anything big." said Trixie "You'll manly just watch or get small things for us."

"That's ok." said Christi "As long as we're here to see this then it's all good."

"Alright everyone let's get this going!" ordered Trixie to the staff, camera men, & interns. "Get that building over there, move that table, & where is Billy!?" asked Trixie

"Wait, Billy's here!" squealed Christi

"Billy, the best action movie star since Max Jackson!" explained Garo

"He's not so great." said Leo

"Are you insane?! He's the best!" yelled Christi.

Just then a much older Billy approached them. "Alright let's get this started." ordered Billy.

Christi ran up to him "It's such an honor to meet you." she said

"Yeah it sure is." said Billy, handing Christi a signed photo of himself.

Trixie walked over to him "Get out there. This is your scene." she told him. Billy smirked & left for his scene.

"He's amazing." sighed Christi

"Whatever." said Leo under his breath.

After that Trixie started up the production of the movie. She got Billy to a couple of dueling & escape scenes as well as getting the main villain in & setting the plot. Leo & his friends merely watched the entire time only to help out by getting water or retrieving slugs when requested.

And while that was going on no one had a clue that 3 figures were watching them from afar. "We should take that Shane brat down right now!" demanded a bull like creature.

"Calm yourself, Minotaurus!" ordered a turtle like creature. "We must be patient."

"Yes." said a spider creature menacingly "We must wait that is how the spider catches its prey."

"Well Spirex, not all of us are so patient, so don't push me." said Minotaurus "Same goes for you Turtleton!"

"And cut!" shouted Trixie "Everyone take 5."

"Somebody get me my water!" ordered Billy "Where's my makeup artist, who wrote this script?!" he demanded obnoxiously.

"I'm starting to see why you don't like him." said Christi to Leo.

"I know right. My parents told me that Billy was always like this especially when he was part of the Hulagang." explained Leo

"He was part of a gang?" asked Christi

"He wasn't part of it he was their leader. He even did some work for Dr. Blakk, but he was fired after the first day on the job." answered Leo.

"I never knew that. I guess everyone has a past." said Christi

"That's for sure." said Leo

"Hey Leo do you mind doing me a favor!" called Trixie.

Leo walked over to her "What is it you need?" he asked

"I ordered a couple of costumes from a costume store not too far from here, & nobody's bothered to pick them up. Do you mind getting them for me?" she requested

"Don't worry I'll be there & back with those costumes, as if I never left." said Leo, Trixie handed him the ticket order, he then ran off, hopped on Walker, & rode off for the store.

"Our prey is on the move." said Spirex

"Now can we attack?" asked Minotaurus

"Yes." answered Turtleton

Leo made it to the store very quickly, he got the costumes, looked at them there were 4 of them & they appeared to be some kind of slinger uniform. He packed them up into a box & rode off back to the movie set. But he got half way there a giant web spring up in his path, he ran into it, Walker stuck to the webbing, but Leo was flung off.

He got back up, loaded Pierce, & shouted out "Who's there?!"

He then heard stomping of feet. He turned around & aimed his blaster at a shades corner in the rock & clearly someone was standing there. "Who are you?" asked Leo but a Hyper Armashelt flew at him & hit his blaster away.

Leo turned to see Minotaurus charging at him & then tackling him. Leo was thrown back & he hit against Turtleton's shell. Leo turned to see the turtle man, he freaked out and leaped away from him, but only to have Spirex step in front of him. "Where are you off too?" asked Spirex

"Yeah we've been waiting a long time to meet you." added Minotaurus

"Who are you?" demanded Leo as he tried to look around for his blaster, which laid on the ground between him & Minotaurus.

"My name is Turtleton." introduced Turtleton

"I am Spirex." said the spider creature

"And I am Minotaurus!" announced the bull man.

"So what do you want?" asked Leo

Spirex held up a yellow slug tube with a Hyper Arachnet inside "We've been hired to take you out of the picture." answered Spirex.

Minotaurus charged at Leo, Leo grabbed his horns & leaped over the bull man. Leo dove for his blaster & fired Pierce at the 3 monsters. Pierce velacimorphed & sprayed needles at the monsters. Spirex dodged the spikes, Minotaurus blocked the spices with his massive arm, & Turtleton didn't do anything but let the needles bounce off his shell. "It's going to take more than that to hurt us." said Turtleton as he loaded an Armashelt & fired it Leo.

Leo avoided the attack, but Spirex fired a Lariat who spat goo at Leo's lower half of his body trapping him. "Now you are caught in my trap." sneered Spirex.

Leo's hands weren't trapped so he fired Soaker who used his Cycloninator attack to wash away the goop & push the monsters away. Leo then fired Gasher who ripped up the webbing freeing Walker. Leo hopped on it & sprinted off leaving the monsters behind. "Get back here!" demanded Minotaurus, but Leo left them behind.

Leo sprinted back to the movie set in a hurry, he ride Walker up to Trixie. "I'm back." He said, clearly out of breath.

"Your late." said Trixie "Now can you put the costumes over by that table."

"Sure but Mom I was just attacked." said Leo as he caught his breath.

"Attacked? By who?" she asked with concern

"By a spider, turtle, & some kind of bull!" answered Leo, but Trixie gave him a confused expression.

"Yeah, a spider, a turtle, & a bull attacked you. That's a good excuse for being late." said Trixie who clearly didn't like or believe the excuse.

"I'm not lying their names are Turtleton, Spirex, & Minotaurus!" explained Leo

"Leo enough I have to get back to work." ordered Trixie she then walked off to start another scene.

Christi overheard Leo she approached him laughing "Is that really the best excuse you could come up with?" she asked

"It's not an excuse! I'm telling the truth!" snapped Leo, Save even shook his head in agreement.

After that Trixie got everyone to do the last of the scenes, but the monsters snuck into the set, people saw them but they figured that they were just wearing costumes. They made their way behind a giant wooden gate. "Now we wait for the right moment to strike." ordered Spirex.

"Ok Billy this is the big boss battle scene so make it look good." directed Trixie

"No problem I always make it look good." said Billy, who was standing around a team of uniformed slingers.

"Alright and Action!" shouted Trixie

The gates, that the monsters were behind opened up, the monsters were totally confused on what was going on. And Trixie was confused "Who are those guys?" she asked

Billy, however, didn't realize the problem and so he continued with the script "Alright rebels, let's take these freaks out!" he ordered. Billy then fired a Hop Rock at the confused monsters.

Minotaurus got real mad he fired a Hyper Rammstone at Billy & the fake rebels. Billy got hit by the Rammstone & was sent backwards. "Hey watch it." said Billy.

Turtleton then fired a Hyper Grenuke at the side actors & staff.

"Who are those guys?!" asked a furious Trixie

"Those guys were my excuse." answered Leo as he pulled out his blaster & loaded Trip. "Alright guys let's get ride if them."

Leo ran onto the set & fired Trip at Spirex tiring him to a street lamp. Christi fired a Frostcrawler who froze Turtoeton, & Garo & Quiver launched a Lariat & Loge at Minotaurus trapping him in goop. Trixie turned to the camera men "Are you guys still rolling?" she asked

"Yes mam." answered the camera man.

"Good keep recording." said Trixie as she directed everyone else to either leave or keep recording.

Minotaurus managed to free himself from the goop, Spirex got free of Trip, & Turtleton broke through the ice. "Not good enough!" roared Turtleton, he fired a Hyper Flaringo.

Billy reacted quickly & fired a Hop Rock but the Hop Rock was pushed back by flames. Leo, however, launched Soaker who extinguished the Hyper Flaringo. Leo then fired SparkPlug who shocked Minotaurus.

Spirex jumped behind Leo & was about to grab him, when Christi fired Jinx. And when she hit Spirex, Spirex felt depressed & gave up, Leo took the opportunity to punch the spider in the face and causing him to fall. "Thanks for the help." thanked Leo to Christi, as he picked up a slug tube and had Save jump into it.

But then Minotaurus tackled Leo, causing him to let go of Save & the slug tube rolled by Billy's foot. "I'm going to teach you a new meaning of pain!" roared Minotaurus, pounding his fists.

Billy reached for another slug but he had run out, because he used most of them earlier that day, he spotted Save. He picked him up and said "You'll have to do so don't make me look bad." He fired Save who velacimorphed & blasted a spiral ray of energy at Minotaurus sending him flying into a boulder & passing out. Save then flew over to Turtleton & Spirex, they saw him coming and they each fired Hyper Rammstones at him. Save let loose a wave of energy that caused the 2 slugs to turn back into protoform. Save zoomed past them & then blasted a wave at energy at the 2 monsters sending them flying backwards & they crashed into one of the fake buildings causing them to pass out. "And that's how you do it." said Billy as Save flew around him & then turned back into protoform & landed on Billy's shoulder.

"And cut!" shouted a thrilled Trixie "That's a wrap!" she cheered but everyone was too tired or trying to catch their breath.

(One week later)

"This is so not fair." complained Leo while he stood by with his friends, reporters, photographers, & fans. They watched as all the dressed up movie producers entered the SnowDance cavern to watch the newest movie they created. "Why can't we see the movie I mean we helped to stop those monsters."

"Because in the recording you were rescued & thus making you a side character." answered a dressed up Trixie standing next to Eli, who wore his tux.

"And whose fault is that for recording it?" asked Leo groggily. "And I'm the one who accidentally led those goons to the movie set."

"Don't worry we'll get you tickets for this movie when it comes out in theaters." reassured Eli

"And why do you get to go?" asked Leo "You were nowhere near the movie production."

"Well I was the inspiration for the movie." answered Eli. Leo groaned.


	16. Chapter 16

**There is another character from SlugItOut**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Slugterra or its characters. **

Madness

"Keep going!" ordered Leo, he's riding on Walker, to his friends who were following close behind. A Hyper Hop Rock flew through the air & nearly missed Leo.

"You better watch yourself." suggested Christi as she passed him by. They ran with the Hyper slingers chasing behind & firing Hyper slug after Hyper slug at them.

"They seem very upset." said Quiver

"Yeah maybe we shouldn't have attacked them." said Leo. He then fired PitFall at the Hyper goons. PitFall dived into the ground & created a sand sink hole trapping a couple of the slingers. "Thanks allot!" called Leo to PitFall, who hopped out of the hole.

The Hyper slingers continued to chase & fire slugs at them. Leo fired Prize who created a giant wall of crystals.

A couple of the slingers crashed into it but the others launched Hyper Rammstones that smashed the wall. When the slingers got past the wall they chased Leo toward a cave but when they got to the entrance of the cave, it poofed up red dust & they crashed into a wall. Sorry was laughing at their gullibility as Leo rode off & laughed.

A couple of slingers neared Leo & Garo. Garo fired a Arachnet that caught a couple of Hyper slugs in its net & Leo fired Trip who tangled around a mecha-beast's feet causing it to trip & fall with the slinger. "Nice." commented Leo as he sped off.

They made it to a worn out & concrete bridge that stretched across a small canyon with a raging river underneath. Leo & his friends sprinted across when they got to the other side Leo stopped Walker, he pulled out a slug tube "Let's go Save." said Leo, Save then jumped into the slug tube.

Leo aimed at the bridge, as the slingers made it half way on it, & he fired Save. He velacimorphed & blasted the bridge causing it to break apart & fall along with the slingers into the river below. Save flew to the otherwise of the canyon, reverted back into protoform, & landed by PitFall, Prize, Sorry, & Trip. "I'll see you guys later!" called Leo, he sped off to catch up to his friends.

"Now what do we do now?" asked Trip. Save looked around until he spotted a small hole with air gushing out.

He hopped over to it & looked in "Follow me guys." said Save, he then hopped into the hole with the other 4 slugs close behind.

When they hopped in they were immediately being carried off by the wind through the slug tunnel. "You know for us to get home we have to make a stop at the Transfer!" chirped Sorry. (The Transfer is a cave that is connected to all the slug tunnels, so slugs normally have to travel through the Transfer to get where they want.)

"I know." said Save as they traveled through the tunnel.

By now Leo and his friends were now in a small town cavern, it has a Chinese town sort of feel to it. "That was fun." said Quiver

"That sure was." agreed Leo.

A creepy voice spoke up from in front if them "Are you Leonardo Shane?" asked the voice.

Leo faced the man that spoke. He looked very creepy, he has some weird kind of holed armor, he has a cyborg eye, & he has pale grey skin. "Yeah, I'm Leonardo." answered Leo

"My name is Max the Madder!" proclaimed the creepy man.

"Max the Hatter?" asked Quiver

"No." said Max

"Max the Seller?" asked Garo

"No." said Max

"Max the Teller?" asked Christi

"No!" said Max

"Max the Madder?" asked Leo

"No! Wait I mean yes." said Max in frustration "I am Max the Madder!"

"Ok, so what do you want with me?" asked Leo

"Leonardo I have been hired to get rid of you." answered Max as he pulled out a bandolier full of yellow slug tubes.

"So that's how it's going to be." said Leo, slowly reaching for his blaster.

Max laughed "It sure is. So do you accept my challenge?" he asked confidently & creepily.

"I sure do." answered a confident Leo

"Alright let's begin." said Max

Leo stepped off Walker "Let's get this over with. Me & my slugs will defeat you." proclaimed Leo

Max laughed historically "You may want to count your slugs." said Max

Leo was confused he stretched out his arms & called for all his slugs to appear, that's when Leo realized that he only had 5 slugs with him, they were Star, Soap, Slips, Stench, & Goop. "Are those the only slugs you have with you?" asked Garo

"I guess so." said a nervous Leo "But that's ok you guys can go get Save & the others from by house."

"But Leo your home is practically on the otherwise of Slugterra from here." said Garo "There's no way to get there & back in time."

Leo was worried now "So you'll have to duel me with only those slugs." said Max creepily.

By now Save & the other slugs neared the Transfer. "Are we there yet?" wined Trip

"We're almost there." answered PitFall.

"Actually, we're here." said Prize. The wind carried them into the Transfer it's a big done shaped cave, with tons of holes & tunnel entrances everywhere, there are large boulders laying around, a small stream curved through the bottom of the cave, mushrooms are everywhere, as well as any type of slug imaginable from Floppers to Blastipedes.

"I'm always amazed at seeing this place." said Save as they landed on a mushroom.

"Can I help you?" asked a Fingerling that approached the 5 slugs.

"No thank you we know where we're going." answered Prize

"Ok just look for me when you need anything." said the Fingerling before it hopped away.

"Lets get going, guys." said Save. But then the entire cave shook, all of the slugs began to panic & freak out, some left through the tunnels, other hopped off to hide.

"What's going on?" asked PitFall, the ground finally stopped shaking.

"What was that?" asked Save

"Run! Run Away!" shouted other slugs as they hopped into tunnels or hide under mushrooms or rocks.

Save hopped over to a cowering Aquabeek. "What's going on?" he asked the Aquabeek.

"These mean people with strange machines & slugs are nearby." answered the Aquabeek.

"Strange slugs?" asked Save, "Then it can only be Hyper slingers!"

Meanwhile, Leo was giving a pump up speech to his 5 slugs. "We may not be the strongest, we may not be able to explode, freeze things, or anything destructive! But we can win!" said Leo. His slugs gave a cheer & hopped into their slug tubes.

"Are you sure about this?" asked Garo

"I think so. And besides I already agreed to the challenge." said Leo as he walked out to duel Max the Madder.

"I hope you don't mind defeat." laughed Max.

Leo couldn't answer because Max fired a Hyper Lavalynx at Leo. Leo dodged the slug & fired Star. Star velacimorphed & shined a blinding light at Max, blinding him. Leo then fired Soap, who swallowed up Max. Max regained his vision & fired a Hyper Thresher, freeing him & the slug zoomed past Leo nearly cutting his arm. Leo fell to his side & Max fired a Hyper Hop Rock that exploded when it made contact with Leo sending him flying & he crashed

Into the top of a tree. "This is going to be a long day." complained Leo

Back at the Transfer, Save & the other slugs searched around to find answers & Hyper. "Have you seen any slingers with yellow eyes slugs?" asked Prize to a Forgesmelter, but it shook its head no.

Another small tremor started again. "This is no good." said Sorry as the tremor ended.

Save then heard shouting & voices from a nearby tunnel. "Guys follow me." said Save as he hoped into the tunnel with the other 4 slugs close behind him.

They were in that tunnel for about 10 seconds before they ended up in a large tunnel only it appeared to have been drilled through & it was filled with yellow crystals. They then heard the roar of a drill & something drilling against rock. Save & the slugs peered behind a rock to see Hyper slingers digging & tunneling downward, some slingers were mining the yellow crystals & hauling them away. "What do they want with crystals?" asked Trip

But he didn't need an answer when one if the slingers pulled out a small machine, put a terrified Hop Rock in it, he placed one of the yellow crystals into the machine, & pressed a button. The machine light up, electricity surged through it & into the screaming Hop Rock, when the electricity ended the Hop Rock had yellow eyes, & the slinger placed it into a yellow slug tube. "Those crystals are what causes slugs to turn Hyper!" chirped Sorry

"Not only that but look at where the drill is digging." said Save

"If that drill continues to dig, they will find the Transfer." explained Prize

"This is madness! We need to take out that drill!" demanded PitFall

"I couldn't agree more." agreed Save, he hopped over toward the drill with the rest of the slugs close behind.

The 5 of them snuck their way over to the drill avoiding falling rocks & feet of oblivious slingers & mecha-beasts. They eventually made it to the base of the drill. "So...now what do we do?" asked Trip.

Meanwhile Leo continued to struggle to duel Max. "Get him Goop!" shouted Leo, firing Goop at Max who just launched a Hyper Hypnogrif that pushed away Goop & nearly ramming into Leo's head.

Max laughed "Do you give up get?!" he asked

"Um...no." answered Leo, he loaded & fired Dumpster.

Dumpster released a cloud of stink causing Max to gag & wobble. Leo took the opportunity to fire Slips at Max's foot, Max stepped on Slips, he slipped & fell backwards.

"That's it!" cheered Quiver

"Way to go!" cheered Christi

Leo then picked up Goop & fired him at Max sticking him to the ground. "Do you give up?" asked Leo

Max laughed creepily "Never!" he answered as he wiggled his blaster & arm free, & fired a Hyper Forgesmelter at Leo.

The Hyper Forgesmelter blasted out molten lava at Leo, but Leo quickly jumped out of the way as 2 parked mecha-beasts melted in lava. "Where did he get these rare slugs?" asked Leo, as he loaded Soap into his blaster, & Max fired a Hyper Blastipede at Leo.

Back to the yellow crystal mine, Save & the slugs hopped around the drill trying to look for something that could stop the machine. "Look there's the counsel." said Save, looking to the top of the drill with a slinger sitting with the control panel.

"But what do we do about that slinger?" asked Prize

"I got this." said Sorry, she hopped up the drill until she made it to the edge if the control panel.

She puffed up red dust & she turned into a Toxis slug. She then hopped onto the counsel & allowing the slinger to notice her. "Ah! A Toxis slug!" screamed the slinger.

He jumped off the drill but he stepped on Prize, who covered his entire body in crystals, & the slinger lost his footing & fell, he easily passed out. "So over dramatic." said Trip, making his way up the machine.

They all got to the control panel where a regular Sorry was waiting for them. "So does anyone know how this thing works?" asked PitFall

Save got nervous "Um, why of course of know." he said as he looked around the counsel.

He spotted a single red button. He looked at it curiously & asked "I wonder what this does?"

Trip impatiently hopped over "One way to find out." he said, he hopped onto the red button.

Save freaked and ducked down thinking something was going to happen, but nothing did, except the other slugs looked at him in confusion & that the drill stopped spinning. "That's it?" he asked opening his eyes & standing back up.

"I guess so." said Trip, but then a countdown sequence, which appeared to be 5 minutes, appeared on the panel. And then the computer spoke saying "Self-destruct in 5 minutes."

"What kind of drill has a self-destruct button?!" asked a panicking Trip.

"Who cares?! Lets get out of here!" ordered Prize, they all then hopped off the drill & headed for the slug tunnel as Hyper goons ran for cover or tried to shut off the countdown.

They neared the hole but just before they could reach it a Slug Hound appeared & blocked their path snarling & snapping at the surprised slugs. "Run for it!" yelled a terrified Trip, trying to avoid the slug hound's jaws.

Meanwhile, "Surrender & I'll let you walk away." offered Leo, as he loaded Goop into his blaster.

"You're the one that has to surrender or you won't be able to walk ever again." threatened Max, firing a Hyper MakoBreaker at Leo.

Leo stepped onto the side of a wall & pushed himself off of it so he could grab onto the street lamp in order to avoid the Hyper slug. He hopped down "Where did you get these rare slugs?" asked Leo

Max laughed "Tell you what, if you win I'll tell you about a little black market that's been going around lately." offered Max "But only of you can beat me." He fired a Hyper Slyren.

Leo fired Goop who spat sludge right into the Slyren's mouth causing it to gag & turn back into protoform. Leo then fired Star who blinded Max, Leo then fired Soap who swallowed Max, & then he fired Dumpster who was swallowed by Soap. Dumpster released his terrible odder inside Soap with Max inside. Max choked, gagged, & nearly puked at the smell, even his Hyper slugs puked or felt dizzy & after a minute he passed out. "Looks like I win." said a victorious Leo.

"This is madness!" screamed Sorry, as she avoided the slug hound's claws.

Sorry stopped & then turned into a Toxis slug, she really thought that would work but the slug hound nearly but her head off. The slug hound chased Sorry until its foot fell into a tiny sinkhole, curtsey of PitFall. As the hound struggled to free its leg the counsel spoke up saying "1 minute."

Save called out "Guys hurry & lets go!"

They all hopped over to Save, who stood near a slug tunnel that was closer to the drill, but when they got there the slug hound freed itself & charged at them. But Save had had enough, the hound leaped into the air but just before it could even touch the slugs Save blasted out a wave of green energy causing the slug hound to be pushed backwards & the blast of the wave launched Save backwards into the slug tunnel along with the rest of the slugs. After that the drill exploded, but it didn't cause a cave in or did it damage anything but itself. "Sounds like we did it." said Prize as they flew through the tunnel.

Meanwhile, Leo had tied up an unconscious Max to a street lamp, Max shortly woke up & tried to free himself, he reached for his blaster but Leo took it away. "So are you going to tell me about the black market?" asked Leo, aiming Dumpster at him.

Max growled "Fine, there's a Hyper black market out in Haring Bow Cavern, they have all sorts of slugs & they offer to make them Hypers for you if you'd like." he answered groggily.

"Thanks for the info." said Leo.

"What are you going to do with him?" asked Chrsti

"I'm going to call the local security to haul him out to Stalagmite 18." answered Leo "Because we have more important things to do."

"Really, like what?" asked Garo

"We need to take down a black market." answered Leo


	17. Chapter 17

**Alright guys here's another story for you all.**

**P.S. if you'd like to know how a Pulter/Save looks then check out the story title. **

* * *

The Black Market

The next day after Max the Madder attacked, Save told Leo about the Hyper mine they found & Leo told them about Max the Madder & the black market.

"So what's the plan?" asked Garo, as he sat down at the spot at the SlugIt.

"Alright we know where this black market is, but we don't know who's there or how it works." answered Leo "So when we find it, Christi & I will go in & have a look around, you know see where we can sneak in from & to get as much info as we can."

"Sounds reasonable." agreed Quiver

"Yeah, so while we snoop around, you two will check out that Hyper mine." said Leo pointing to Quiver & Garo, they nodded their heads in agreement. "Alright let's get going."

Christi & Leo made it to Haring Bow Cavern while Garo & Quiver locate the Hyper mine. "So where in this place is the market?" asked Christi

"Not sure, but we should disguise ourselves." said Leo, loading Sorry into his blaster & launching her.

She disguised Leo & Christi back into the disguises they had at the mall. "Lets get going." said Christi, revving up Skip & walking through the road.

They walked by a narrow alley way that several people walked into & out of. "What's going on back there?" asked Leo. He then saw a man walk out with a brand new Slyren.

"I think we found it." said Christi, noticing the Slyren.

"I think so." said Leo, he parked Walker & made his way toward the alley.

"Lets get going." chirped Save

"Hey Save, you mind getting into a slug tube I don't want to lose you if this goes wrong. That goes for the rest of you too." said Leo to all of his slugs. Save hopped into a slug tube.

They followed the alley until they came across 2 doors at the end of the alley, one of them appeared to let people out & the other was the entrance. Leo knocked on the entrance, & a man peered through "Are you here to buy or sell?" he asked

"Um, buy." answered Leo. The guy shrugged & opened the door to let them in.

Leo & Christi were astonished by what they saw the entire place was one giant room, full of people, slingers, slugs, & markets. "Where do we start?" asked Christi

"I'll start on the left side of this building. You check out the right." answered Leo

"Alright. Be careful." said Christi, walking off to investigate.

Leo started his investigation by approaching a couple of shops that were set up. He saw all sorts of stuff on sale from mecha-beasts to blasters. Leo eventually passed up a table that was crowded with people, Leo approached the table to see a guy auctioning off a terrified Forgesmelter. "20 pieces of gold I'm staring at 20 pieces of gold." said the seller to the crowd.

The crowd roared saying they'll pay for it & they'll pay more. The Forgsmelter was freaking out & shaking even more with fear. "That slug is having a meltdown." said Leo

He pushed through the crowd "I'll give you 100 pieces of gold for the slug!" said Leo

The seller grinned & said "Sold to this young man." He handed over the Frogesmelter, Leo handed over the gold, as the crowd disbanded.

He held up the terrified Forgsmelter "Please don't hurt me." it pleaded

"Don't worry I won't." said Leo "My name is Leo Shane, I'm in a disguise." he whispered "I only bought you to get you out of there because you looked pretty scared."

"Yeah, I was." said the Forgsmelter

"Listen you can be part of my team if you'd like? Or you can go free." said Leo

The slug pondered for a bit & chirped "You know I think I'll stay with you."

"Sweet. So now a name...how about MeltDown?" asked Leo

"I like it!" chirped the Forgesmelter, it hopped into the slug tube that hung next to Save.

After that Leo continued to have a look around, he couldn't find any more markets selling slugs, & as it turns out the market is only open for 3 hours & he showed up for the last 30 minutes.

"Did you find anything?" asked Leo to Christi, who approached Leo as he hopped on Walker.

"Nothing but creeps running around & spending money." answered Christi, she hopped on Skip & they rode off for the SlugIt.

Leo & Christi hung out in the SlugIt until Garo & Quiver. They conversed about what happened at the black market. Garo & Quiver told them that they found the entrance to the mine, but they haven't been able sneak around yet. They all agreed to meet up & continue the investigations tomorrow so they all left for home.

"So how was your day?" asked Trixie, as she handed out dinner.

"Uneventful." answered Leo, as he poured slug food into a bowel & placed it on the floor.

His slugs hopped over to it along with MeltDown, who was noticed by Eli. "Where did you get that Forgesmelter?" asked Eli

"I uh found him while out on a slug hunt with my friends today." lied Leo.

He lied because he is not allowed to do 'Shane business' unless he gets permission from Eli. And the reason he didn't ask Eli permission is because he wants to surprise & make Eli proud by handling a situation by himself.

"Really, so what cavern where you guys at?" asked Eli, probably thinking they went to some kind of volcanic region.

"We were just walking through the woods, & supposedly MeltDown ran away from his slinger because he was way to mean & hurtful." answered Leo

"Right." said Eli

Burpy hopped over to MeltDown "Is that true?" he asked

But before MeltDown could say anything Save stepped forward "It's all true! Yeah, uh but he's alright now. So go on back to dinner." chirped Save

Burpy was suspicious "Ok." he said & hopping away. Save sighed with relief.

Leo stood up at the table. "Where are you going?" asked Trixie

"I'm going to practice some combo moves." answered Leo, picking up his slugs, his blaster, & heading for the door.

After he left Eli spoke saying "I've been hearing about some activity going on over at Haring Bow Cavern."

"Really, what kind of activity?" asked Sydney

"Yeah what kind?" asked Tim

"I've been told that there's some kind of black market, but I'm not sure yet." answered Eli

"What's your plan?" asked Trixie

"We're going to Haring Bow tomorrow, with Pronto & Kord, & if there is a black market then we're going to shut it down." answered Eli.

The next day Leo spent his morning sleeping in & hanging out with Tim at home. By 3 o'clock he left for the SlugIt to meet up with his friends & then they would leave to investigate the Hyper mine & the black market.

"Alright Quiver & I are going to scope out that mine." said Garo

"While Christi & I finish out investigation." said Leo.

They left for their destinations. Leo used Sorry to give then their disguises, the guy let them back in, & Leo went back to where he left off at yesterday. But at the same time Eli arrived at Haring Bow with the rest of the Shane Gang.

Leo walked around for a bit examining mechas, blasters, & gear. He continued to walk around until he made it to the opposite end of the building, where he met up with Christi, & a stage sat there as well. Find anything?" asked Leo.

Christi shook her head no. Then a man stepped onto a stage. "Alright time for the real reason we're here!" he shouted out into the room.

He immediately drew a crowd. "Alright everyone! We'll start our auction with a very rare & a very lethal slug, the Toxis slug!" declared the man.

Holding up a yellow slug tube with a regular Toxis in it, they were using the Hyper slug tube because it had a cap to it. "We'll start the bidding at 1000 pieces of gold." said the man.

People immediately raised their hands & shouted out prices that they could & will pay. People shoved & pushed to be noticed & to get the best offer. "This is crazy." said Save looking at the chaos from inside his slug tube.

"This sure is." said Leo. He look at the Toxis to see it shaking with fear. "That slug needs help." said Leo

"Alright calm down!" shouted the man "This is my final offer! 3,000 pieces of gold for this slug & I'll even have it turn into a Hyper if you'd like."

The crowd roared even louder & promised large prices, but before Leo could react a loud explosion was heard from the other side of the building. Leo turned around to see dust in the air & to see the Shane Gang appear from the entrance. "What are they doing here?" asked Christi

"The Shane Gang!" yelled a guy from the crowd. The people I medically panicked & scrambled to grab their things & to get away from the Arachnets, Lariats, & Jellyish that Eli & the Shane Gang fired.

The man that was auctioning the Toxis ran off dropping the terrified slug. The slug tubes bounced over to Leo's foot. Leo picked up the tube & the Toxis "Are you ok?" he asked to the slug

"Why...why do you care?" asked the Toxis with fear

"Because I never like to see a friend get scared or hurt." answered Leo. He opened the slug tube & the Toxis popped out & landed on the floor.

"There's a weird feeling I have about you." chirped the Toxis

"Yeah, well I'm not all what I appear to be." answered Leo as Sorry & save hopped onto Leo's shoulder.

"Are you part Shadow Clan?!" asked the Toxis.

"I sure am, but it's a long story. The more importance thing is do you want to get out of here? I can take you back to your home if you'd like?" offered Leo, he grabbed an empty slug tube & presented it to the Toxis.

"You know, I think I'd like to join your team." chirped the slug "If that's ok?"

"I see no problem with it." answered Leo.

The Toxis smiled & jumped but instead of landing into the slug tube she landed on Leo's shoulder & right next to Sorry & Save. Leo flinched expecting pain to rush through his body but nothing happened. The Toxis laughed "Don't worry I only hurt people that are mean to me." she explained.

Save chirped "Remind me never to get on your bad side."

Leo laughed & then he asked "How about I call you Venom?"

The Toxis cheered for her new name. Leo then noticed that a giant group of slingers had surrounded Eli, Trixie, Pronto, & Kord from all sides. "Looks like they need our help." said Leo, his disguise disappeared as well as Christi's & Sorry hopped into the backpack.

"Give up Shane Gang!" ordered one of the slingers.

Just before the slingers could fire any slugs Return flew through the air & knocked away several blasters from the slingers' hands. Eli immediately recognized the Strang "What are you waiting for?!" shouted Leo firing Basher.

Eli loaded & fired Chiller who froze several incoming slugs. Trixie fired Bluster who blew away several slingers & shops. Christi fired her Polero, Pronto fired his Jellyish, & Kord launched his Hop Rock. "Are you guys ok?" asked Leo to Eli

"We're fine but what are you doing here?!" asked a furious Eli

"I can explain!" defended Leo as the slingers fired down at them.

Eli fired a mega-morphed Burpy at the slingers. Burpy circled around the slingers trapping them in flames, Leo took the opportunity to load Venom into his blaster, and he then ran up to the trapped slingers & aimed at them. Burpy flew away & the slingers noticed a Toxis slug aimed right at them. "Do you give up?" asked a victorious Leo.

The slingers dropped their blasters & they put their hands up. "Good choice." commented Leo.

After that the Shane Gang, Leo, & Christi handed over the slingers & anyone else they arrested over to local security. "This was fun." said Leo to Christi.

"Well not anymore." responded Christi pointing to an approaching Eli who seemed very upset.

"Hey dad." said Leo cheerfully

"What were you doing here?!" asked Eli

"I um...was...um." but he cut himself off.

"You were disobeying me." finished Eli "I've told you that you're not allowed to deal with these things without getting my permission! And not only that but you even participated in this black market."

"What no I didn't!" snapped a worried Leo

"Really, then tell me where you got that Forgesmelter & not to mention that Toxis slug?" asked Eli.

Leo couldn't answer him. "Leonardo, you are grounded until further notice!" declared Eli.


	18. Chapter 18

Grounded

This takes place a day after Eli grounded Leo.

"So not fair." complained Leo, he was sitting on his bed, with no blaster at his side, & his slugs hung & played around the room. "I can't watch TV, can't leave, & I can't slug sling so not fair."

"Well you should have asked him for permission, before you investigated that black market." chirped Save

"But if I did he would have done the job himself without giving me a chance or he'd be over my shoulder the entire time." explained Leo.

"But he promised you that he wouldn't do that." chirped Weaver

"But knowing my Dad he would just figure out some way to get around that like by getting Kord or Pronto to follow me around." responded Leo

Meanwhile, Eli was chatting with Trixie about Leo. "I can't believe he would disobey me, again!" said Eli "Why would he do this?"

"Well did you ever think that he was trying to surprise you by taking that market down for you?" asked Trixie

"Oh, he surprised me! When he bought those slugs & that he lied to my face." snapped Eli

"And it's not like you've lied before?" asked Trixie

"I have lied, but this is different." responded Eli

"Okay, then how many times did you have to ask permission for you to do what you want?" asked Trixie.

"I never asked for permission, but he has to learn not to go off by himself, I mean last time he went off by himself we almost lost him for good!" answered Eli

"Well lets think, he almost got killed once & you almost killed yourself on a regular basis." sassed Trixie

Eli didn't know how to respond & Burpy laughed at the remark "Oh, she got you!" jeered Burpy

"No matter what though he's grounded until I say otherwise." proclaimed Eli, he gave a stern look to Burpy. "And the same may go for you too." said an annoyed Eli to an apologetic Burpy.

"I'm so bored!" wined Leo, who was laying on his bed now.

"Quite complaining." requested an annoyed Basher.

Leo's intercom turned on. "Leonardo Shane's office, Leo speaking." said a bored Leo

"Hi Mr. Shane we would like to know if...You remember that we have a mine to get rid of!?" answered Garo through the intercom.

Leo sprang out of the bed "Garo! Hey so sorry, but I'm a little busy doing nothing right now." answered Leo

"So you really did get grounded." said Garo

"I sure did. So what do you need?" asked Leo

"We need you to get over here! There seems to be allot of activity here at this Hyper mine." answered Garo

Leo pondered on what to do, & disappointment appeared on his face. "I'll be right there. Oh and can you get me a spare blaster." said Leo. He grabbed his bandolier & picked up his slugs.

"Wait are not grounded anymore?" asked Slips

"Um, if anything dad is going to ground me again." answered Leo

"Come on just forgive him already." chirped Burpy to Eli

"Burpy, you remember how worried I was last time he went off alone. I just don't want that to happen again." said Eli

"But Eli, he's going to have do things by himself you're not always going to be there for him." said Burpy

"I guess you're right." said Eli "Maybe I'll just give back his blaster so he won't be so bored, & maybe we can duel." said Eli cheerfully, he went to his room, grabbed Leo's blaster, & headed straight to Leo's room. Eli knocked on the door "Hey Leo can I come in?" He got no answer. "Hey I have your blaster here, why don't we have a duel? You know just for fun." Still no answer, Eli got tired of waiting he opened the door, & he was shocked at what he was seeing. "Leonardo!" shouted a furious Eli, seeing an empty room with an ajar window.

"Dad is going to kill me." said Leo as he approached Garo's location (Eli locked up Walker so he couldn't use him).

"There you are!" said Quiver, seeing Leo running at them.

"Sorry...I'm...late." said an out of breathe Leo

"That's okay, you're here so let's get started." said Christi, throwing Leo a spare pink & flowered blaster.

"Uh, what is this thing?" asked Leo

"Sorry, it was my sister's old blaster, it was all I had." answered Christi

Leo's slugs were laughing their heads off. "That blaster suits you." laughed Jokes

"This is not funny." complained Leo, attaching the girly blaster to his side. "Alright let's get this over with."

"Follow me." said Quiver "I already dug hole to get us into the mine without being seen."

"Perfect." said Leo, they hopped in & crawled through the small tunnel.

They were in the tunnel probably for a minute before they found themselves in the Hyper mine. "We already found where the main operation is so follow us." said Garo.

Garo & Quiver led the way through the mine. There were tools & crates everywhere, they snuck by a couple of Hyper slingers every now & then. They eventually got to the main part of the mine, the place was full of Hyper slingers, miners, & the weird yellow crystals. "This is it." said Quiver

Leo looked around, he noticed a heaping pile of broken machine parts (the drill that Save & the slugs blew up), he then noticed Jack with Scorch. "Jack's here?" said Leo

"No way." said Quiver

"Yeah, but lets not worry about him." said Leo "Here's the plan all we need to do is drive these slingers out of here."

"Is that it?" asked a skeptical Garo

"If you have a better idea then let's hear it." offered Leo, but Garo didn't answer. "Lets do this." said Leo, loading Heat.

Leo stepped out, aimed, & fired Heat who exploded right next to Jack sending him flying & crashing into the side if the mine. "Didn't see you there, Jack!" yelled Leo

The other slingers reacted quickly they threw down their tools & pulled out their blasters. Christi fired her Flaringo who blasted fire at several of them. Garo launched a Polero who tangled itself around 2 of the slingers. And Quiver shot a Flatulorinkus. "Keep pushing them back!" ordered Leo, firing PitFall who velacimorphed & created a sand out trapping several slingers.

Leo smirked but then he ducked down to avoid a Hyper Lavalynx. "Oops I missed." teased Jack, loading a Hyper Rammstone & firing it at Leo.

Leo fired Trip, but Trip was knocked aside & the Hyper slug zoomed at Leo, who was able to get out of the way. "I like your blaster, Leo!" laughed Jack along with the other Hyper slingers.

But before Leo could do anything else a Hyper slinger fired a Vinedrill. The slug used its Vinelash attack to pick up Leo & then throw him at the wall. He hit the wall hard & he slowly got back on his feet as the slingers & his friends continued to duel. Leo loaded & fired Star, who blinded most of the slingers, he then fired Weaver who tied up several of them in webbing. Jack fired a Hyper Grenuke it stuck to the wall next to Leo, Leo ran into the nearest tunnel to him, the slug exploded causing rocked to pile up at the entrance of the tunnel Leo was in. "Well we're not going that way." said Leo, looking back at the pile of rocks.

Jack saw the pile of rocks he created "I'm going after the Shane the rest of you stay here & clean up!" ordered Jack, running off to find Leo.

"We have to help Leo!" shouted Garo

"Lets help ourselves first." said Quiver, as Hyper slugs we're continuously fired at them.

"I agree & besides Leo can handle himself." agreed Christi as she fired Jinx.

Leo walked down through the tunnel, his borrowed blaster ready. He peered into a nearby tunnel to see a giant shadow, Leo loaded Pierce, & walked toward the shadow. He took a breath & leaped out to surprise the figure only no one was there except for a Crystalyd slug, who was seated in front of a flashlight. "You're a pretty rare slug." said Leo

The Crystalyd didn't answer instead it began to burrow its way underground. "Wait, I'm not going hurt." said Leo

The Crystalyd stopped digging & examined Leo, he sensed that he is part Shadow Clan, Save then hopped down & convinced the Crystalyd that everything is ok. "I guess I can believe you." said the Crystalyd, hopping out of the hole.

"You can, & I'd like to know if you would join my team?" asked Leo, presenting his hand to the Crystalyd.

The Crystalyd shrugged "Why not? Nothing's been going on around here anyway." answered the slug, hopping onto Leo's hand.

"I'll name you Driller." declared Leo, placing the Crystalyd into a slug tube.

A Hyper Hop Rock then flew through the air nearly hitting a surprised Leo. "There you are." said Jack, loading a Hyper Arachnet.

Leo avoided the webbing & then he fired Pierce but Jack fired a Hyper Tormato who blew away Pierce. "Why do you have a grudge against me?" asked Leo, as he took cover.

"I don't have to explain myself to you." answered Jack, he launched a Hyper Neotox.

Leo saw it coming & ran to the nearest tunnel he ran as Jack continued to fire slug after slug at him, he kept running until he found himself back at the main mining operation. He saw that his friends had defeated most of the Hyper slingers. Leo fired Trip who tied around the last of the slingers. "Is that all of them?" asked Quiver, but Jack fired a Hyper Tazerling that tazzed them. "I'll take that as a no."

Leo fired Soap at Jack, but Jack fired a Hyper Aquabeek that blasted water at Soap. Jack helped a couple of other slingers to get up. And they fired Hyper slug after Hyper slug at Leo & his friends. "Everybody get down!" shouted Leo, as he fired Save.

Save velacimorphed, flew around the mine, & releases a giant wave of energy that shook the ground, turned all slugs back into protoform, & knocked all the slingers off their feet. "Drive them back!" ordered Leo, he fired SparkPlug who zapped his old slinger (Jack), as Leo's friends open fired at the rest of the slingers.

Jack saw that there was no way to win, he fired a Hyper Phosphoro that blinded Leo & his friends. Leo recovered his vision to see that Jack & the rest of the Hyper slingers. "They got away." said Garo

"I guess so." said Leo, picking up his slugs & thanking them for a great job. "Guys we can't leave this mine like this, they'll be back."

"Then what should we do?" asked Christi.

"Lets get out if here first." said Leo.

They followed the main tunnel until they found themselves outside. Leo loaded Driller into his girly blaster. "Is that a Crystalyd?" asked Quiver

"You bet." answered Leo.

He then aimed at the tunnel & fired his new slug. Driller velacimorphed & drilled under the mine, the mine shook, & then it caved in & collapsed on itself. Driller came back, turned into protoform, & hopped into Leo's hand. "Fabulous, job." thanked Leo.

Just then they heard the sound of an approaching mecha-beast. They readied their blasters, but only to see Eli on top of Lucky & sprinting at them. Eli stopped Lucky & stepped off "Leo where have you been?! And what did you do?!" asked a furious Eli "And what is with that blaster?" he asked pointing to the girly blaster in Leo's hand.

"Okay this thing is a rental." answered Leo, he handed Christi the blaster. "And." But he was cut off.

"And you disobeyed me, again!" interrupted Eli

"Yeah but." said Leo but he was interrupted again.

"No buts! You're grounded, remember?! Why do you have to disobey me?! Why are you so arrogant?!" asked a frustrated Eli. "And." but Eli was cut off.

"Because I want to make you proud!" interrupted Leo, with his eyes beginning to tear up. "I don't like disobeying you! I didn't tell you about the black market, because I wanted to surprise you! And I came here to finish the job that my friends & I started! That's why I'm so arrogant!" explained a frustrated Leo

Eli was taken back at what he just heard, he had no idea that Leo was doing this for him. "Leo, I'm sorry I was just worried about your safety." said Eli

"What do you know about safety you never cared for that when you were my age." snapped Leo

"I know, I guess I should be the last person to tell you to be careful, but I am truly sorry." said Eli as he placed his hand on Leo's shoulder.

"I'm sorry I snapped at you." apologized Leo

Eli laughed "It's ok I probably would have done the same."

"This is so sappy." laughed Save

"Quiet!" shushed Burpy

Eli ignored them "Here." said Eli, hanging Leo his blaster.

"My blaster!" said a cheerful Leo "Does this mean?"

"Yes you're not grounded anymore." answered Eli

"Yes!" cheered Leo

"Alright I think you all call it a day." suggested Eli, he hopped on Lucky.

"Good idea." agreed Christi, she hopped on Skip & rode off for home waving goodbye to everyone.

"See you guys tomorrow." said Quiver as Garo & him left for their homes.

"I'll see you at home." said Eli, putting Lucky into a sprint.

"Wait, I need a ride home!" shouted Leo

"I'm sure you'll manage!" teased Eli as he rode out if sight leaving an annoyed & surprised Leo.


	19. Chapter 19

**Here is another chapter guys. I would also like to clarify that if you'd like to know how a Pulter/Save looks then check out the story cover image.**

**I'd like to give a shout out to dicarten-ice for lending me the OC. **

**And to PLAINAWSOME please be patient with me your OC will be making an appearance, eventually.**

* * *

Cousins

Leo & his friends were hanging out at the SlugIt just enjoying themselves by doing some target practice & getting some food. "Lets go Rocket." said Leo, he fired Rocket at a nearby target.

He then fired Smasher who clobbered a target, he fired SparkPlug, then Prize, then Gasher, & finally Save. Save flew around & blasted several targets. He then zoomed at the last 3 but before he could do anything a velacimorphed Speedstinger zoomed by hit one of the targets, then it ratcheted hitting the other 2, & then it hit Save. Save was taken by surprised, reverted back into protoform, & then fell to the ground as the Speedstinger ratcheted around until landing on a boy's shoulder.

The boy is the same age as Leo, he's moderately tall at 5' 8", he's a bit muscular, has dark blonde hair, & grey eyes. He's wearing a suit similar to Leo's but instead of orange it is blue, he also has a blue Storm Raider blaster at his side, & he has a hat on with what appeared to be a Negashade slug sleeping in the folds of the hat. "You messed up my shot." growled the boy as well as his Speedstinger

"I messed up! I had those targets ready to be blown to bits." snapped Leo approaching the boy.

They stared down each other with mean looks, Leo's friends saw what was happening & they began to charge their blasters. The 2 boys made a fist, pulled back their arm, they readied to punch the other in the face but instead they fist bumped. "Great to see you coz." greeted the boy.

"Great to see you too, Jake." greeted Leo. His friends were surprised.

"Great to be seen by your one good eye." teased Jake "You look good."

"Thanks, man I haven't seen you for a while." said Leo

"I know. Sorry I missed your birthday, but hey I heard that your allowed to go where you want." said Jake

"You heard right." said Leo. Garo coughed to remind Leo that they were there too. "Oh right." said Leo, he turned to his friends. "Guys meet my cousin, Jacob or Jake. Jake meet my friends Quiver, Garo, & Christi."

"Nice to meet you guys." greeted Jake

"Nice to meet you too." greeted Garo, he shook Jake's hand (almost crushing it).

"So you're a Shane too?" asked Quiver

"I sure am. My mom is Eli's sister." clarified Jake

"Really then how come we never heard of you?" asked Christi

"I've been studying blaster smiting over at Slugterra University." answered Jake

"Slugterra University?" asked a confused Save

"It's for quality slingers not for mediocre ones." jeered Jake's Speedstinger, named Speedy.

"Then why are you there?" asked an annoyed Save.

Him & Speedy don't get along very well, because whenever Leo & Jake dueled Speedy somehow was able to get past or defeat Save, even though either Leo or Jake would win those duels.

Leo got an idea "Hey Jake, how about we duel." he offered

Jake smiled "Just don't cry when I beat you. I mean that is what happened last time." teased Jake

"Leo cried?" asked Quiver before they all laughed but Leo.

"Hey, you broke my nose last time!" explained Leo

"Whatever, now are you ready?" asked Jake

"I sure am." answered Leo, as Save & Speedy stared at each other & growled.

They all left & rented out the arena. Jake woke up his Negashade, who is named Yang, & he prepared his slugs. He doesn't have allot of them, but they are a force to be reckoned with.

Leo prepared his slugs "I'm going to tear Speedy to pieces." Threatened Save

"Sure you are." teased Trip

Leo & Jake stood at the opposite sides of the arena. "You ready to lose?" asked Jake

"Are you?" asked Leo

Christi then fired her Phosphoro to signal them to begin. Jake was the first to draw his blaster & fire his Armashelt, named Bolt, at Leo. Leo bent backwards to avoid the slug, he then fired Smasher. Jake ducked to avoid Smasher's horns, Jake then fired his Arachnet, called Stinger. The slug fired webbing, the web trapped Leo's left arm & stuck him to the wall. Leo struggled to get free as Jake fired his Tazerling, named Telsa, the slug zapped Leo but it fried the webbing. Leo recovered & fired Slushy, Slushy blasted out freezing air, Jake tried to avoid it but his leg was trapped in ice. Jake then fired Yang who covered the entire arena with a black cloud. Leo loaded Heat & then he walked around through the darkness with his blaster ready. Leo then decide to remove his eye patch revealing a glowing green eye he looked around until he saw Jake loading Speedy into his blaster. Leo placed his eye patch back on & then he fired Prize at the ground. Prize created a crystal wall that curved away from Leo. Jake heard the blaster & he fired Speedy at the wall of the arena. Speedy ratcheted from one end of the wall to the other continuously & he dissolved the cloud, until Speedy hit the crystal wall & then he was sent flying right at Jake. As the cloud dispersed Speedy & Jake finally noticed each other but neither of them could do anything as Speedy hit Jake in the gut. Jake was pushed backwards & he lost his breath. Leo took the opportunity to load Save & just as he was about to take aim at Jake a loud explosion erupted from the entrance of the SlugIt.

"What was that?!" asked a surprised Quiver

"I don't know, but we should find out." answered Leo, he left the arena & saw Stalker losing to Boulder (the guy Leo defeated in round one if the tournament).

"Tell the Boulder where he is or the Boulder will crush you." threatened Boulder to the losing Stalker as he fired a Hyper Arachnet.

The slug pinned Stalker to the wall with its webbing Boulder loaded a Hyper Armashelt & fired it at Stalker. Just before the slug smashed into him a velacimorphed Flight flew by grabbed the velacimorphed Armashelt, he flipped around, & threw the Hyper slug back at Boulder. The Armashelt smashed into him & sent him flung backwards & crashing into a couple of tables.

"Stalker, are you okay?" asked Leo as Jake & him pulled off the webbing.

"I'm fine." answered Stalker. He then pushed Jake & Leo put of the way of a table that Boulder threw at them.

Boulder threw another table but Group jumped in & caught it as Quiver fired his Lariat. The Lariat pt out a string of sludge at Boulder's feet, but he just spread his legs & easily broke free of the slim. As he broke free Christi fired her Rammstone, which punched Boulder but it did not knock him down. "The Boulder will crush you all, especially Leo Shane!" declared Boulder, he then fired a Hyper Diggrix at Leo, but Jake fired his Frostcrawler, named Freezer, & the slug froze the Lavalynx in a cube of ice.

Boulder then fired 3 Hyper Armashelts. Leo fired Basher as Jake fired his Fandango, named Dynamo. Dynamo used his Levelest move on Basher, increasing his power so he can smash through the Hyper slugs & then smashed into Boulder. "Thanks for the assist." thanked Leo to Jake

Christi fired her Vinedrill as Stalker fired his Rammstone. Boulder fired a Hyper Sand Angler that was able to take down the Vinedrill, the Rammstone got by, but shoulder punched the slug right in the face. "We need to end this." suggested Jake

"Yes we do." said Leo, he grabbed Save & loaded him into his blaster. "Alright, Jake fire Yang & then we'll fire Speedy & Save."

"I hope this works." said Jake, loading Yang & firing him at Boulder.

Yang covered Boulder in a cloud of darkness. Jake loaded Speedy, him & Leo aimed their blasters & fired simultaneously. The 2 grudging slugs velacimorphed Save flew behind Speedy & blasted a pulse of energy beaming Speedy right at Boulder, the hit was so powerful that Speedy hit Boulder so back that he broke through the wall of the building & fell unconscious. Speedy ratcheted around before landing in Jake's hand & as Save flew & landed onto Leo's shoulder. "That was awesome!" cheered Leo

"That sure was!" agreed Save & Speedy but their smiles disappeared when they noticed that hey both agreed on something.

"I glad you guys thought that was fun." said Stalker placing his hands on Leo & Jake. "Because, now you 2 are going to clean this mess up."

Leo looked around to see the damage that Speedy & Save caused with their energy pulse & ratcheting around. "You know that sounds like fun, but I got a dentist appointment to get to." lied Leo

"Yeah & I have homework." lied Jake

Stalker didn't listen he handed Leo a mop & Jake a broom. "Get to work or should I tell your parents the damage you caused." threatened Stalker, Leo & Jake gave in & began to clean up the damage they caused.


	20. Chapter 20

**Thank you dicarten-art for lending me another OC.**

* * *

Friend Zone

This takes place after Leo & Jake dueled Boulder & Jake went back to Slugterra University.

"I can't believe I lost to him." complained Leo as he sat with his friends at the SlugIt. "If Boulder never showed up I would have won."

"Quite complaining." said Christi "He clearly won when he fired Speedy & knocked you out cold."

Leo grunted as everyone else chuckled. "At least he didn't break your nose this time." said Save

"Whatever." groaned Leo, he got up to get a soda.

After he ordered it & he had it in his hand a teen comes by & intently slaps the drink, spilling it all over Leo. "Hey, watch it!" growled Leo

The teen boy turned to face him, he was big, muscular, has black hair, & he appeared to be either 18 or 19 years old. "You better watch it punk or it I'll have to squash you like a Flopper." threatened the teen, before he marched out of the SlugIt.

"Jerk." said Leo under his breathe, as he grabbed napkins & cleaned himself up.

Leo & his friends hung out at the SlugIt for about another 30 minutes before they decided to leave so they could watch a small local tournament that was nearby. They rode their mechas over to the tournament, they showed up late so they got there to see the semi-finals match. "Would Sydney Shadow please head to the arena!" called the speaker

"Wait, Sydney Shadow?" asked a confused Leo, he led his friends to the arena where he saw Sydney Shane dueling another dueler.

"Leo, you didn't tell us that Sydney would be here." said Christi

"I didn't know she'd be here." snapped a surprised Leo

"And why did she sign up a Sydney Shadow?" asked Garo, but Leo was just as confused.

They watched the match for about another minute before Sydney defeated her opponent by using Marina. After she won she picked up her slugs, she made her way to the stands where she joined up a group of friends. There appeared to be quite abut of 18 & 19 year olds in the group, a muscular teen boy with black hair approached Sydney & he out his arm around her. "That's the guy that spilled my drink!" proclaimed Leo "And what is Sydney doing with them?"

"Trying to fit in." answered a teenager's voice from behind.

Leo turned around to see a teen boy, about 18 years old, he has blonde hair, he's wearing sandy-colored t-shirt and shorts, & he has a Tormato & a Sand Angler perched on his shoulder. "Luke Jones?" asked Leo "What are you doing here?"

"I was about to ask you the same thing." replied Luke

"We came to see the tournament." said Leo as he fist bumped Luke "So how's Twist doing?"

"You know my dad doesn't like to be called Twist anymore." defended Luke.

Luke Jones is the son of Twist or John Jones. After Dr. Blakk was defeated Twist eventually realized his mistakes & he sought forgiveness from Eli. Eli didn't forgive him at first, but after a little while Eli forgave him. They are now really close friends so close that Twist & Luke know about Leo's condition, as well as Sydney & Luke have been the best of friends since they were in diapers.

"Yeah, yeah. Hey can you tell me who that guy is, that's with Sydney?" requested Leo

A teenage girl walked over to them she has red hair, that is tied back in a ponytail, she's skinny, short, she's wearing a light orange shirt with black shorts, and she has a Vinedrill on her shoulder. "That guy is Bruce." answered the teen girl.

"Hey Ashely." greeted Leo

Ashely is another friend of Sydney, but unlike Luke she doesn't know about Leo's condition.

"Hey Leo nice to see you again. And these must be your friends." said Ashly

"Luke, Ashly meet Christi, Garo, & Quiver." introduced Leo

"Nice to meet ya." greeted Garo

"So why is Sydney hanging with them & not with you guys?" asked Leo

"She's been trying to get in with the cool kids." answered Ashly

"Cool kids? That Bruce guy is a complete jerk!" declared Leo "And I am not going to stand by & watch my sister become one of those punks." He tried to get to Sydney but Luke stepped in front of him.

"You don't want to do that." he said

"And why not?" asked an annoyed Leo

"Listen I don't like it any better than you do, but trust me when I say that you don't want to mess with those guys." explained Luke

"Then what should I do just stand here & watch?!" asked a frustrated Leo

The teens left for their mechas as Sydney stayed behind Leo took this opportunity to talk to her "Hey Sydney, I didn't know your last name was Shadow." jeered Leo

"What are you doing here?!" asked a surprised Sydney

"Well I'm certainly not hanging out with a bunch of creeps." answered Leo

"They're not creeps they're my friends." snapped Sydney

"Trust me does punks are not your friends." said Leo

"Hey back off! They are my friends and if you know what's good for ya you'll stay away." ordered Sydney

Leo just shook his head with disproval as Sydney left for her mecha. "Why would she do this?' asked Leo

"She just wants some company, you know she wants to be part of a group of friends." Answered Luke "And not only that but Sydney has been dating Bruce." He gagged when he said that.

"And so what are you then? You two have been inseparable since you two learned to crawl." snapped Leo "I guess that's what happens when you're in the friend zone for so long."

"What is that supposed to mean?" asked Luke who was clearly annoyed now.

"It means why would you just stand here and not help her?" snapped Leo, as his Sand Angler, named Dune, and his Tormato, named Typhoon, growled to emphasize the point.

"Guys quite arguing!" demanded Ashly, her Vinedriil, named Ivy, yelled at them as well.

"Fine if you want me to help then I will." declared Luke

"Sounds good, and we'll come along to make sure." Said Leo.

They all left for their mechas and they rode off to the Scrap Heap, which was about 4 minutes away. "Why are we going to the Scrap Heap?" asked Quiver, pulling up to Luke.

"Because every now and then a giant group of slingers duel there. It's basically a duel club." answered Luke

"Really?" asked Leo, as he hatched an idea.

They eventually made it to the Scrap heap where Luke led them down a winding path through all the trash and scraps. They eventually heard cheering (actually it sounded more like shouting), they followed the cheering until they found themselves at the duel club. The place had mountains of trash acting as a wall, they also acted as the seats for the roaring teens and slingers. In the middle of the trash mountains sat a large beaten and trashed arena, it has mounds of trash and scrap on it, as well as the remains of past duels. "This place is actually kind of cool." said Leo

"Yeah." agreed Save

"There's Sydney." said Luke pointing to Sydney who was standing by Bruce.

"Alright, you ready Luke?" asked Leo

"Ready for what?" asked a confused Luke.

Leo didn't answer instead he snatch Dune off Luke's shoulder, put him in a slug tube, and fired him at Bruce. Dune velacimorphed and he used his Scarabi attack on Bruce and his other friends, but not Sydney. The sandstorm trapped Bruce and he struggled to get free of it, but Dune went back into protoform stopping the attack. Bruce noticed Dune "Jones!" he roared

He looked around until he saw Luke standing there with shock on his face, he approached him "What's the big idea?!" he asked. "Do you think's funny to throw sand at people?"

Luke couldn't answer because Leo steeped in between them. "Are you kidding he thought it was hilarious" jeered Leo

"Did he now?" asked Bruce, glaring at Luke.

"You bet. He said that you're one of the worst slingers out there." instigated Leo

"You know I've had it with you Jones! You and me are going to duel in 15 minutes, which ought to give you enough time to write your will before I cream you!" declared Bruce, he then hiked off back to his friends and a worried Sydney who heard everything.

"What did you just do?!" asked a furious Luke

"I just made sure that you'd help." answered Leo, who clearly was enjoying himself.

"I was going to help, but that doesn't mean that I have to suffer for it!" snapped Luke

"True but don't worry I have a plan that will help you win and will get Sydney to come to her senses." explained Leo

Luke and Leo left to get him ready to duel Bruce. Leo explained his master plan, even though Luke continuously criticized it and said that it wasn't worth it. Leo eventually convinced him to follow through with it though, Luke actually doesn't have allot but they are powerful. "Are you sure about this?" asked a nervous Luke

"Don't worry just stick with my plan and it'll all be worth it." assured Leo

The 15 minutes were up Luke left for the arena and Leo left to join his friends and Ashly on the bleachers. "So is he ok?" asked Ashly

Leo chuckled. "After this you may be a third wheel."

Meanwhile, Luke stood opposite of Bruce in the arena, as a worried Sydney watched with the rest of the teens. "Ready to be destroyed, Jones?" asked Bruce

"I guess so." answered Luke warily.

Everyone then counted down from 3 to 1, and then they all yelled go, starting the match. Bruce immediately fired a Hop Rock, which used its Sploder attack to send Luke flying and crashing into a trash mound. The crowd roared with delight, except for Leo, his friends, Ashly, and Sydney (who looked very worried). Luke got to his feet and fired his Lariat, the Lariat spat sludge right in Bruce's face. Bruce easily wiped the goop away and fired a Rammstone, the slug smashed through several trash mounds before smashing its horns into Luke. Luke was sent flying and crashing into a trashed washing machine. "What is he doing?!" asked Garo

Leo smirked "He's following the plan." He looked to the opposite end of the arena to see Sydney ready to freak out in worry and fear.

Bruce fired a Thresher that nearly took Luke's head off. "If this doesn't kill me, I'm going to kill Leo." threatened Luke under his breathe, he was then hit by another Hop Rock.

Sydney had just about had enough at what she was seeing. "COME ON LUKE YOU CAN DO IT! BEAT THIS GUY ALREADY!" she shouted. Her shout was so loud that she over powered the roaring of the crowd and they all fell silent, as Leo smirked with success.

Luke smiled with confidence and fired his Lavalynx, Bruce dodged it, but the slug did end up melting several trash mounds. Luke then fired his Tazerling, which used its Tazerwing attack on Bruce zapping him. Luke the fired his Frightgeist who caused Bruce to freak out at everything he saw. He fired Typhoon who created a tornado that picked up all the trash and then flung it at Bruce and pinning him to the ground. Luke loaded Dune, walked over to the trapped Bruce, and aimed his blaster at him. "Looks like I creamed you." sassed Luke, claiming victory.

The crowd roared with delight (they are not very loyal to anyone). "Great job." complimented Leo as Luke approached them.

"Thanks." Said Luke.

Sydney ran over to them. "Luke!" she called. Luke turned around to be embraced by a very relieved Sydney "Oh thank goodness you're ok."

"Amen to that." said Luke.

Sydney realized that she was hugging him, she let go, and stepped away with a slight blush on her face as well as Luke's. "So, nice job out there.' compliment Sydney awkwardly.

Bruce finally freed himself from the trash pile. "We're not finished Jones!' he roared. He then pulled out a yellow slug tube with a Hyper Lavalynx inside.

He loaded it and fired it at Luke. Sydney quickly reacted she loaded Marina, and fired her at the Lavalynx. Marina blasted water at the slug sending it flying backwards and crashing into Bruce. "Get out of here you creep before I destroy you myself!" threatened Sydney, and Bruce didn't waste any time as he scrambled to his feet and ran away.

"You're welcome.' said Leo to Luke

"Yeah, I guess I owe you one.' agreed Luke

"Actually, you owe me 2." said Leo, Luke gave him a confused expression. "Because, thanks to me you are now out of the friend zone."

Sydney walked over to Luke "Hey I'm sorry that I ditched you guys I just wanted to be part of a group I guess." apologized Sydney

"Don't worry about." said Ashly

"Yeah no harm done, except for the possible broken bones I have." added Luke

"Speaking of which, why would you do something so stupid as to let Bruce slug you like that?!" asked a furious Sydney

"Hey it's not my fault! It was Leo's plan." explained Luke

"So are you telling me that you only did this because Leo told you?" she asked with a bit of annoyance written on her face.

"What no I." but he was cut off by Sydney.

"I don't want to hear it." said Sydney she then turned to Ashly "Come on Ashly lets head to the mall."

"Great Idea." complimented Ashly as they walked away leaving Luke behind.

"Boys." said Sydney under her breathe as they got on their mehas and rode off for the mall.

"What just happened?" asked a confused Luke.

Leo placed his hand on Luke's shoulder. "You just fell further into the friend zone." answered Leo. "And you still owe my 2 favors."

* * *

**I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, I know I did. Please leave a review or suggestion .**


	21. Chapter 21

Futuria Cavern

Eli took Leo & his friends to Futuria Cavern a couple days after they got Sydney to come to her senses.

"So how long is it going to take?" asked Eli to Tobias

"I just started it will take me a couple of days for me to build it & test it." answered Tobias as he worked on a small machine.

"I hope so because we have to help these slugs." said Eli, he placed a couple of yellow slug tubes, with Hyper slugs inside, on the table.

"Not to worry, just give me sometime & I'll have this Hyper Cure machine up & running." assured Tobias.

"And when it is up and running," interrupted Leo "it'll be a total game changer." he turned to his friends "Lets go have look around, I've never been here & maybe we can have a practice duel or 2."

"Sounds like a great idea." agreed Christi "I've never been here either so looking around sounds good."

"Yeah, we can see all the different projects that they got here." chimed Garo

They all left Eli & Tobias at the science institute. They hopped on their mechas & set them at a walk so they could have a look around.

Meanwhile, an all too familiar guy looked through his binoculars & watched the Futuria Cavern. His intercom turned on "Snatch are you in position?" asked Brink's voice

Snatch pressed his intercom & answered "I'm all set to go."

"Alright you know what to do." said Brink, shutting off the intercom.

Back in the midst of Futuria Cavern, Leo and his friends were passing a small local restaurant when a nearby building exploded. "What was that?!" asked Quiver

"Lets find out." responded Leo, he ran Walker over toward the explosion as Hyper slingers ran through the dust & fired Hyper slugs at anything they saw.

Leo fired Heat who exploded & hit a couple of the slingers. Christi fired her Arachnet, Garo launched CaveIn, & Quiver fired his Polero. The Arachnet tied up 4 of the many slingers, CaveIn dug a trench & trapped several of them, & the Polero tangled around a slinger's legs causing him to fall. "Keep them away from the people!" ordered Leo, as he fired Dumpster.

Meanwhile, back at the institute Eli heard the explosion "What was that?" asked a worried Tobias

Eli pulled out his blaster "I don't know. Stay here & keep working, I'll be back." answered Eli, he then ran out of the building & he saw the smoke & the explosions from the Hyper slingers.

He ran toward the action, when he got there he saw Leo firing Dumpster, who caused a couple of slingers to gag & faint because of the terrible smell. Eli fired Banger who clobbered 3 slingers. Leo turned & saw Eli load Burpy & fire him. Burpy velacimorphed & created a fire wall between the slingers & them. "Nice." complimented Leo, as Burpy flew back to Eli & landed on his shoulder.

"Leo what's going on?" asked Eli

"All I know is that Hyper showed up from out of nowhere." answered Leo, the flames were killed by several Hyper Aquabeeks & Frostcrawlers.

"Open fire!" yelled one of the slingers.

"You heard the man." said Leo to Save, he loaded him & fired him at the oncoming slingers & slugs.

Back at the main science building, Snatch crept his way through the air vents, he eventually hopped out of them & found himself in a small lab. He looked around, he saw the machine that Tobias was working on, and he approached it & examined it curiously. Until he was hit by a chair from behind. He turned around to see Tobias wearing his gravity gloves, Tobias levitated a couple of desks & chucked them at Snatch. Snatch ducked & then jumped to avoid the desks, he then fired his Hyper Arachnet that pinned Tobias to the wall. "Sorry geek, but I didn't come to hang out with you." said Snatch, he turned to leave when he was hit by a blast of sonic sound.

He went crashing into the wall, he picked himself up to see Katherine with her sonic blast speakers. "Who are you & what are you doing here?" she demanded, but Snatch fired a Hyper Jellyish that pinned Katherine to the wall. Snatch then ran off in search of something else.

Back at the battle Christi fired her Frostcrawler that froze several slingers & Garo fired his Rammstone who smashed into the trapped slingers, sending them flying & crashing into other slingers. The Hyper slingers were retreating & Leo and everyone else continued to fire slug after slug at them. "We have them on their heels!" shouted Garo, firing a Grenuke but just before the Grenuke could hit anything it was swallowed up by a Hyper Bubbaleone.

They looked to where the slug came from to see Brink, sitting atop a gold & orange Lion mecha-beast, with an army of Hyper slingers. "Fire on those Shanes!" ordered Brink, he fired a Hyper Armashelt that almost hit Leo, and luckily he leaped out of the way at the last second.

Eli didn't like the fact that Brink targeted Leo, he loaded Rookie & fired him at the Hyper slingers. Rookie shot out tons of Gernades that stuck to slingers, their blasters, or to the ground. Rookie turned back into protoform & he touched his antennas that caused the grenades to explode sending the Hypers into chaos.

Meanwhile, Tobias & Katherine still struggled to get free, Tobias eventually got his arm free & he used his gravity gloves to push bottoms in the computer & he was able to contact Eli.

Back at the battle Eli's intercom turned on "Eli, I need help there's a Hyper slinger here at the institute!" called Tobias' voice.

Eli avoided a Hyper Grenuke "Ok I'll send Leo to the main building to help you out." said Eli.

Leo heard him speaking & he left for the institute. He got to it & he ran inside looking for the intruder or Tobias. He neared Tobias' lab, he entered it to see Tobias caught in webbing & Katherine in goop. "Are you guys alright?" asked Leo, he pulled off the webbing.

"I'm alright," answered Tobias as he brushed himself off.

Leo freed Katherine from the goop. "You should go look for that intruder. We'll stay here & make sure that he doesn't come back." suggested Katherine, Leo agreed & he went off to find the intruder.

While Leo searched, Snatch found a room with the main computer of the facility. He turned on the computer, he then began hacking into the system, he eventually got through & he searched for a file, he found what he was looking for, he then inserted a flash drive, & he stepped back as the flash drive began to upload the file & a progress bar appeared on the screen. "Come on, come on hurry up." said an inpatients Snatch

"What's the rush?" asked Leo

Snatch turned around to see Leo aiming his blaster at him from the doorway. "Snatch."

"Hey Shane, how's it been going?" asked a cheerful Snatch "I can see that you learned to shower. Leo got annoyed & fired Soaker, but Snatch dodged him. "Come on I'm only messing around."

"What are you doing here? And why aren't you at Stalagmite 28?" asked Leo

"I'm doing my job, which helps when whenever I end up in jail." answered Snatch, Leo fired Goop up Snatch dodged him & fired a Hyper Frightgeist, but Leo dodged it.

Leo then barrel rolled to a table "So what are you after this time?" asked Leo, as he loaded Heat.

"That is none of your business." answered Snatch, firing a Hyper Hop Rock at Leo.

Meanwhile, Eli & the others continued to battle the Hyper slingers & Brink. Brink fired a Hyper Hop Rock, but Eli fired a megamorphed Spinner who slung the slug back at Brink. Brink saw it coming & swerved his mecha-beast out if the way. He then fired a Hyper Grenuke, but Garo spotted it & fired a Lariat. The Lariat spat a slim rope at the Grenuke & then he whipped it back to the Hyper slingers, the slug exploded as soon as it hit the ground. "Are you guys ok?" asked Eli to Christi, Garo, & Quiver.

"We're fine." answered Christi, she shot Jinx who used her Blambaste on a couple of the slingers, and they threw their blasters down & gave up on the fight.

"Or at least we will be as soon as these creeps leave." responded Quiver, as he fired a Vinedrill that created vines & picked up several of the slingers.

Back at the institute Leo & Snatch kept dueling it out avoiding & firing slug after slug. "This is getting us nowhere!" shouted Leo "So just tell me what you're looking for & maybe we can work something out."

"Oh, so now you want to negotiate." sassed Snatch.

Snatch finally noticed the screen as the progress bar finally reached 100%. He then 'snatched' up the flash drive & made his way for the exit. "I'll be seeing you later Shane!" called Snatch as he ran through the hall.

Leo ran after him & fired Jokes, but he was shot down by a Hyper Arachnet. Leo then fired Flight but Snatch hit the slug with a Hyper Tazerling. "Get back here!" demanded Leo, Snatch ran for the exit.

Snatch ran outside & he headed towards the battle. Brink saw him approaching he then whistled to his slingers. The slingers heard him & they immediately began to pull back, as Snatch hopped onto a nearby mecha-beast. "Did you get it?" asked Brink, as he fired more Hyper slugs.

Snatch smirked, "I sure did." He held up the flash drive & handed it to Brink who smiled with relief & delight.

"Alright everyone move out!" ordered Brink.

Then all the slingers fired Hyper Phosphoros all at once the flash was so bright that everyone was blinded for 5 minutes as Hyper ran off. Eli recovered from the blindness "Those cowards." he grumbled

Eli & the rest of them left to check up on the institute. "What did they take?" asked Eli to Tobias & Katherine

"Not sure." answered Katherine "Snatch didn't take anything, he just downloaded done sort of file but we're not sure what was on it."

"Yeah, the only real damage here today was the mess Leo & Snatch left behind." added Tobias

"Please don't tell me that I have to clean it." pleaded Leo

Tobias chuckled "Not to worry you only did what you had to do."

Meanwhile, Brink entered his office at the Hyper Fortress. He sat down at his desk & inserted the flash drive into his computer, he opened the file to get a quick glimpse at a picture of a Roboslug, but just before he was about to copy the file someone began to chuckle creepily from the front of the room. Brink stood up & reached for the flash drive but it was snatched away by a web. Brink looked at his guest, who was seated in a chair, but he couldn't see him because the person sat in the shadows of the room. But he could make out that the person's shape, he was a bit skinny but also a bit muscular, and he could see the shape of short spiky hair. "I thought you were going to be tomorrow to pick it up?" asked a nervous Brink

The guest chuckled creepily "Oh Hector you should know by now that only one of us here does the thinking." his voice gave away that he is rather young.

Brink gulped "My...my apologies, I didn't mean to disobey you."

"Your pathetic Brink." said the guest, as he stood up, and a strange slug with glowing red eyes hopped on his shoulder.

He placed the slug into a slug tube, then he pulled out his blaster, loaded the strange slug, & aimed it at Brink. Brink flinched just as the guest pulled the trigger, but instead the guest disappeared leaving a red dust to be left behind. Brink stood there in shock for a few seconds before he collapsed into his chair because of exhaustion & fear.

* * *

**I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter please leave a review.**

**And I'd like to thank PLAINAWSOME for lending me his OC, which was the guest that scared Brink.**


	22. Chapter 22

Nothing but Trash

"How's it going?" asked Leo, who Eli sent to check on Tobias' work on the machine, a day after the Hypers attacked.

"It's going very well, this machine is almost up & running." answered Tobias.

"That's good." said Leo

"But," added Tobias

"But what?" asked Leo

"There's a part that I'm missing, it's called the Ampler gadget." answered Tobias, as he turned on his computer to show Leo & his friends a picture if the machine part.

"Neat so where can we get one?" asked Leo

Tobias shook his head "These things were stopped from being produced years ago, but there may be a place with a few still laying around."

"And where would that be?" asked Leo

"The Scrapheap." answered Tobias.

Leo & his friends immediately left for the Scrapheap. "So where do we find a gadget in this mess?" asked Leo as he examined the Scrapheap.

"Let me handle that." said Quiver, he walked over to a counsel, he typed in Ampler gadget, & the counsel provided a map to the gadget. Quiver picked up the map "Ok, it appears that the gadget is in Top Storage, & lucky for us it appears to be an easy trip since we can use our mechas."

The Scrapheap went under some remodeling so they replaced the tracks & carts with small roads for mecha-beast.

"Alright, lets move." said Leo, he revved up Walker & they set off for Top Storage.

In about 10 minutes they made to Top Storage. "Oh man! This places wreaks!" complained Christi

"It smells worse than Dumpster!" added Leo "No offense."

"None taken." chirped Dumpster, he then sniffed the air "Oh my god! It does smell worse than me!"

"Let's move." suggest Garo "I don't want to stay in this trash heap."

"Agreed." said Leo.

They set their mechas at a slow jog as they followed the confusing & twisting map. They continued to follow the map, until Leo's keen hearing (Shadow Clan ability is heightened senses) heard the charge if a blaster. "Everyone down!" yelled Leo, he then fired Soap at the sound of the charging blaster.

As soon as he fired Soap a velacimorphed Neotox flew at them, but Soap swallowed up the slug. "Who's there?!" demanded Leo.

But instead if an answer a Hop Rock was fired at them from behind, Quiver spotted the slug & fired his own Hop Rock that smashed through the other slug & then exploded when it crashed into a trash mound. The trash collapsed to reveal a man with a cast on his neck & arm, & a blaster in his hand. "Who are you? And what do you want?" demanded Leo

Another slinger then hopped onto a trash mound, with 2 other guys. He has blue skin, he's very skinny, has busted teeth, & has large trash like helmet on. "You should know who we are." said the skinny blue slinger.

"Um, should we know who you are?" asked a confused Leo

The skinny guy was confused "Oh come in you've never heard of the Scrap Force!?"

"The Scrap Force?" asked Christi "That's actually a pretty cool name."

"See I told you Straggus." chimed the man.

"Quiet, Mongo!" ordered Straggus. "Now tell me, who are you kids?"

"Well we don't have an official gang name," explained Garo "But I'm Garo."

"I'm Christi."

"I am the one & only Quiver!"

"And I'm Leonardo Shane."

"Wait, a Shane!" said Straggus "Last time we met a Shane we were fired & our boss disappeared!"

"Wait, Scrapheap, Scrap Force, boss?" asked Leo "Oh I know you guys! My dad told me how you guys worked for some guy named Ember."

"Yeah that's right." confirmed Mongo

"Yeah that is right." said Straggus "So we'll cut you a deal kid. Hand over your slugs, blasters, & mechas and we won't hurt ya."

Leo laughed "Please, my dad told me what amateur slingers you guys are. So there's no way I'm handing you a signal slug!"

"Fine, then we'll gust take them!" said Straggus, he fired a Flaringo at Leo.

Leo fired Soaker who easy washed away the slug & then he blasted Straggus with water. The other slingers fired Hop Rocks, but Quiver fired Loge who shot down the slugs by sitting sludge at them. Mongo launched an Armashelt, but Garo fired CaveIn who swatted the slug away & then he crashed into the trash mound that Mongo was on top of causing it to tumble & collapse. "You were right they really aren't that good." chuckled Garo, as he fired a Bubbaleone that caused another trash mound to fall.

"Then maybe we should use different ammo!" said an annoyed Straggus, as he pulled out a yellow slug tube with a Hyper Dirt Urchin.

"Watch out!" shouted Leo, they hopped down from their mechas and used them for cover as the Hyper slug sprayed needles everywhere.

Mongo then pulled out a Hyper Armashelt & fired it at them. The slug smashed into Garo, the other slingers fired Hyper Hop Rocks. "They have us trapped here!" shouted Quiver

"I know," said Leo, he held out a slug tube to let Save hop into it "Alright help us." He launched Save toward Mongo.

Save velacimorphed & blasted an energy ray at Mongo, the ray sent him flying backwards, Save then flew the other slingers & Straggus & he blasted an energy wave at them, sending them flying back as well. "Lets go!" ordered Leo, they hopped on their mechas & rode off, as Save flew back to Leo & landed on his shoulder.

"Looks like they got away." said a disappointed Mongo

Straggus just smiled "Oh no they didn't. Look at what I got." he said cheerfully as he held up the map to the Ampler gadget.

"When did you take that?" asked Mongo

"I used an Arachnet when no one was looking to snatch it from that Molenoid." explained Straggus, he opened up the map & examined it "Now lets see what they're after."

Meanwhile, Leo & his friends continued to ride through the maze if trash & scraps. Leo eventually set Walker at a walk "I think we're clear." he said

"Man, how did guys like that get their hands on Hyper slugs?" asked Garo

"Well Brink does sell them, or maybe they stole them." suggested Christi

"It doesn't matter how they got them, let's just get this gadget & get out of here." said Leo "So where too?"

Quiver reached for the map "Wait, I lost the map!"

"What?!" asked Christi

"No way?!" said Garo

Quiver looked down in shame "Don't worry, Quiver." assured Leo "We'll just look for the gadget ourselves."

"Yeah, but where do we start looking?" asked Christi

"Well, on our way here I took a good look at the map." answered Leo "So just follow me."

Leo revved up Walker and jogged through the trash maze, they rode through the maze for about 10 minutes. "Are you sure it's this way?" asked Garo

Leo hesitated to answer "Oh yeah, it's right this way."

"You have no clue where you're going." chirped Save "I'm right, aren't I?"

"I know where we are, just give me a minute." hissed Leo, through his teeth.

"Maybe Pronto training you how to track wasn't the best idea." chirped Save

Just as they passed up another trash mound Leo heard the gun fire of a blaster. "Look out!" shouted Leo

A Hyper Grenuke flew by & smashed into a trash mound causing it to collapse. "Move it!" shouted Quiver, as they ran their mechas away from the falling trash mound.

Leo looked to the top of a trash mound to see Mongo load a Hyper Hop Rock. Leo hopped off Walker, loaded Gasher, & fired him at Mongo, but Gasher was hit away by a Rammstone that Straggus fired. "Nice try, Shane." chimed Straggus, he then fired a Hyper Tormato.

The slug used its Slyphoon attack, the high winds gathered up picked up tons of trash creating a trash twister. "Everybody take cover!" yelled Leo as he & his friends hoped off their mechas & scattered to find cover from the trash twister.

The Tormato continued to rage & it neared Leo. Leo tried to run but he was picked up by the wind, then he & the trash were sent flying in all directions. "Leo!" called Christi, as she watched Leo fly through the air & falling somewhere out of sight.

"Some Shane." jeered Straggus as he watched Leo as well. Christi was annoyed & fired Jinx at Straggus.

Leo flew through the air & crashed into a trash mound, the hit was so hard that the mound collapsed. Leo coughed as the dust was thrown in the air, "Oh man that really hurt." he coughed

"Are you kidding that was like a roller coaster!" chirped Save excitingly with the other slugs nodding & chirping in agreement.

"Only when you're safe inside a tube." mumbled Leo

"Can you help me?" pleaded a small voice.

Leo looked around but he didn't see anyone, "Can you help me?" asked the voice again.

Leo looked down & saw a moving bucket that was pinned down by a metal bar. Leo removed the bar, & then picked up the bucket to find an Xmitter slug. "Where you the one asking for help?" asked Leo

"I sure was, thanks." thanked the grateful Xmitter

"No problem, hey you're an Xmitter right?" asked Leo, the slug nodded yes. "Cool I've always liked Xmitters. Do you want to join my arsenal?"

"Um, well it probably beats living here in this mess." agreed the Xmitter.

Leo reached down to allow his new slug to hop into his hand. "I'll name you X."

"Cool name!" cheered the Xmitter

Leo placed X into a slug tube. Then he heard an explosion & the shooting if blasters. "Oh no the duel!" said Leo, he then ran back toward the battle.

He reached the duel & saw his friends slowly being pushed back as the Scrap Force fired slug after slug at them. "I can't just run in there," said Leo "I need a plan."

He pondered on what to do, he then noticed X, Leo got an idea & he looked around. "I have an idea." he said as he picked up X & loaded him into his blaster.

"Leo you know that he'll shut down all electronics, right?" asked Save

"That's what I'm counting on." answered Leo.

He then hocked around the battle until he found the perfect spot to fire X & he won't be seen by anyone. "Time to show us what you can do." said Leo, to a confident X.

Leo aimed X above the battle & then he pulled the trigger. X zoomed over the battle, he velacimorphed, & he used his Jambler attack the surge hit everyone's blasters including Leo's. "What was that?!" asked Mongo as he tried to fire at Garo.

"Now it's my turn." whispered Leo, as he grabbed Save with his left hand.

Leo aimed at the Scrap Force & threw Save, he gave him a burst of energy that made him soon through the air, & Save velacimorphed. Save flew at the surprised & confused Scrap Force slingers & he blasted a wave of energy at them sending then flying backwards, they crashed into a trash mound, & they passed out as the mound collapsed. "That was awesome!" cheered Leo as he stepped into view.

"Leo! You're ok." said a relieved Christi

"Of course I am." said Leo as X & Save hoped over to him.

Leo picked them up & allowed them to hop on his shoulder. "Wait is that the Xmitter that caused that energy surge?" asked Garo

"He sure is, I just found him, & he already proved himself." answered Leo

"But how where you able to fire Save without a blaster?" asked Quiver

"Oh, I uh found a slug slingshot, but it broke after I launched Save." lied Leo

"That makes sense." said Garo, clearly he fell for the story.

Quiver nodded his head in agreement, when he noticed something "Hey look here!" he said with excitement.

He reached down & pulled up a small gadget. "That's the Ampler gadget!" declared Christi

"It sure is," confirmed Leo

After waiting an hour for their mechas to turn back on, because they were caught in the Jambler, they left for Futuria Cavern. Where they got to Tobias & watched as he installed the gadget. "Alright time ticker if this baby really works." said Tobias

Leo handed him a Hyper Frightgeist, Tobias placed into the glass done part of the machine, he then turned the power on, & he activated the machine. They all stepped back as the machine flew brighter &charged up. The machine eventually quoted down & what was left inside the Hyper Cure machine was a very grateful Frightgeist. "It worked!" proclaimed Quiver

Leo opened the dome, & allowed the cured Frightgeist to hop into his hand. "Man being a Hyper is exhausting." chirped the slug

"I bet it was." said Leo

"I guess I'm part of your team now." said the slug

"I guess so, Ghost." answered Leo, the Frightgeist smirked at his new name & slinger.

"This is amazing!" cheered Garo, as placed another Hyper Thresher into the machine.

"This sure is." agreed Tobias, as he admired his work & genius.


	23. Chapter 23

Here is another chapter please leave a review or suggestion at the end.

* * *

Mecha-Monsters

A Cave Troll engineer walked around in the mecha-beast storage room at the Great Western Mech Forge. He walked around checking to see that every mecha-beast was where it belongs. He passed up bull mechas, horses, saber tooth cats, dogs, but one spot was empty. This confused the engineer when he noticed that a mecha was missing. Then he heard the engine of a mecha-beast reave up, he turned to see a purple eyed hyena mecha-beast growling at him & moving toward him, with no rider on its back. "Somebody, help!" screamed the terrified engineer as the purple eyed hyena pounced at him.

"It just attacked him?" asked Leo to Kord

"It sure did." confirmed Kord, who is now the head engineer at the mecha forge since Grendel retired.

"A mecha-beast can't just attack someone without a rider." said a confused Gari

"I know it sounds crazy, but it makes sense." said Kord "You see this all started up about a couple of weeks ago, at first mecha-beasts were found in different parts of the forge. I had a couple of people tell me that they saw the mechas walking themselves, & that they had purple eyes."

"Purple eyes?" repeated Leo

"What happened with your engineer?" asked Christi

"He's fine, he's just shaken up." answered Kord

"At least there's some good news." said Quiver

"Yeah, but why did you call me instead of dad?" asked Leo

"Because, your dad is off hunting down Hyper depots & this doesn't involve Hyper." answered Kord

"Alright, then where do we start?" asked Quiver

"How about you show us that rouge mecha-beast?" asked Leo to Kord

Kord agreed & led them to a small storage room, Kord opened the door to reveal nothing but a pile of busted machine parts. "So where's the mecha-beast?" asked Leo looking around the small room.

"You're looking at it." answered Kord, gesturing to the pile of busted parts.

"I thought it attacked you guys?" asked Garo

"It did, but we fought back." smirked Kord, as Bludgeon flexed his little arms in agreement.

"Yeah, but what caused this mecha to attack?" asked Quiver

"We don't know." answered Kord "That's why I called you guys here, you're going to help me figure this all out." His intercom turned on, he allowed the person to speak & then he hung up. "Alright, I'm needed in my office. You guys go ahead & start your search." He left for his office.

"So now what?" asked Garo

"Lets checkout the footage maybe that will help." suggested Leo

They left for the security room, "I don't think you're going to find this useful." said the security man, he turned on the screen to allow them to see the engineer checking mechas and then the camera shuts down.

"Is that it?" asked Quiver

"That can't be it?" asked Leo

"I'm sorry," apologized the man "but that's all the footage we have."

"This is going to be tougher than I thought." mumbled Leo

They then left to check out the scene of the attack, but just as they passed Kord's office Brian Dwin exited the room. Leo reached for his blaster, loaded Heat, & took aim at Brian "You're the one causing the problem." said Leo

"What problem, kid?" asked Brian

"Don't play dumb!" demanded Leo "You're the reason for the mechas attacking!" He began to charge his blaster.

Kord exited his office & stepped in between Brian & Leo "Hold on Leo, he's not here to cause trouble." exemplified Kord

"Then what is he here for?" asked Leo

"I'm here to offer a deal, but I can see that I am not wanted here at the moment." said Brian, he then was escorted by guards through the hall to leave. "And think about the offer!" he called, as he turned the corner.

"What is he talking about?" asked Leo to Kord

"Well I just got an offer from Hyper that they are willing to but the Beast Forge." answered Kord

"And why would they want to buy it?" asked Christi

"Why wouldn't they?" asked Leo "If they got this place they'll get tons more gold. And they're probably the reason for these attacks."

"Now hold on there." said Kord "You can't go around blaming people without proof, even if they're the lowest of the low."

Leo grumbled "Fine."

They all left for the mecha storage room, leaving Kord to deal with some paperwork, they entered to see fallen mechas, blast marks, and broken tools. "You guys really did fight back." said Leo

They searched around the room, but it's pretty hard to find clues with a giant mess.

Meanwhile, Brian stood outside the Beast Forge. He looked around & saw that no one was watching, he pulled out a yellow slug tube with a strange violet colored Hyper slug inside.

The slug has a thine body shape of a Tazerling, it's completely violet with white electrical patterns, & it has 2 thin violet extension cord like antennas. Brian fired it at the forge's entrance counsel.

The slug velacimorphed it has a similar body shape as a velacimorphed Tazerling, but it is completely violet with white electrical patterns, it has a long electrical white tail, 4 slim arms, and 2 violet extension cord like antennas. The slug turned its body into violet electricity & it disappeared into the entrance counsel. Brian turned & left with a smirk on his face.

The strange slug traveled through the wiring of the forge before it made its way to the private garage of the forge. It then entered the nearest mecha-beast, which happened to be Walker. Walker turned on & his eyes turned from blue to purple, he growled, & began walking towards a couple of oblivious engineers.

The alarm sounded throughout the entire building. Leo & his friends ran to Kord's office. "What's going on?!" asked Leo

"There's an emergency down at the garage." answered Kord

They frantically ran to the garage where they saw a purple eyed Walker chasing after an engineer. "Walker?!" said a stunned Leo

Walker stopped & faced Leo, he roared menacingly, & charged at Leo. Leo was caught off guard as Walker pinned him to the ground & growled. Leo struggled to get fee but he sensed the presence of something alive. Walker opened his jaws to bite Leo, but just before Walker could take a bite a velacimorphed Bludgeon knocked Walker off of Leo. "What's wrong with Walker?!" asked Leo

"Look at his eyes!" answered Kord "It's the same as the other mechas." He fired his Armashelt that smacked Walker in the face.

"Don't scratch him!" demanded Leo Quiver fired Logie who stuck Walker to the wall. "Don't dirty him!" demanded Leo, as Walker struggled to get free.

"Lets take a look at him." said Kord as he approached the growling & struggling Walker, but violet electricity surged out of him & disappeared into the nearest security camera.

"What was that?" asked Garo

"Not sure." answered Leo, as he used Soaker to wash away the goo that trapped Walker.

Just then the speakers turned on & the speaker asked Kord to return to his office for a message. They walked into the office to see Brian on the computer screen. "What do you want?" asked Kord

"I want to offer you a better deal for the forge." answered Brian

"I don't want to hear it" answered Kord, he shut off the computer.

"Hyper has to be behind this." said Leo "I mean they called after Walker attacked, they have to be the problem."

"Remember Leo, you need proof." reminded Kord

"I know I know." said Leo

"So what now?" asked Christi

"Lets split up & search the entire building, & we'll contact each other when one of us sees something." answered Leo, & they all left to search the building.

Christ left to check the garage, Quiver checked the storage room, Garo investigates the kitchen or at least the fridge, Kord checked the main assembly area, & Leo inspected the hallway. "Does anyone see anything?" asked Leo through his intercom, but everyone answered "All clear." or "No."

Meanwhile, the electrical slug continued to travel around in the wiring of the building, it found its way to the security camera room, & it shut off all the cameras. It then continued through the wiring till it got to the kitchen, it activated all the electrical items. This confused & surprised Garo as he was sprayed with ice from the freezer. The slug traveled to the garage where it entered Quiver's mouse mecha, Whisker or WHSK-R. Whisker's eyes turned purple & it squealed as he ran towards Christi. "I found it!" called Christi through her intercom, & as she fired her Hop Rock, but Whisker used his tail to slap the slug away.

Leo & Kord made it to the garage first, to see Whisker trying to attack Christi. Leo fired Slushy, who froze Whisker in ice. "I did it? I did it!"" cheered Leo, but violet electricity exited the ice & it infused into Charger, Garo's rhino mecha-beast.

Charger's eyes turned purple, as Garo finally made it to the garage. "What I miss?" he asked, he turned his head to see Charger, well, charging at him.

Garo was stunned, but Quiver, who just arrived, fired an Arachnet that pulled Garo out if the way in the nick of time, & Charger crashed into the wall. "Thanks for the save." thanked Garo

Charger pulled away from the wall & charged at Kord & Leo, Leo fired Smasher as Kord launched Bludgeon. The 2 slugs smashed into the rhino mecha, but all they did was push it away. Charger shook off the attack, he looked around until he saw the frozen Whisker, he then smashed the ice, & a bit of violet electricity entered into Whisker, now they have 2 purple eyes mechas. "This can't get any worse." said Leo

Whisker leaped off & nearly hit Leo as Charger ran towards Christi, but she fired a Frostcrawler that froze the ground causing Charger to slip & slide.

Meanwhile, Whisker approached the parked Skip, Christi's gazelle mecha, & some electricity entered it giving him purple eyes as well. "Not my mecha!" complained Christi, as Skip leaped into the air & nearly smashed into her.

Charger nearly tackled Kord & Garo but they were pushing Charger back with all their strength, but it didn't really do much. Whisker was chasing & whipping his tail at Quiver & Leo. Skip however neared Walker & once again electricity took over him too. Leo was thrown to the ground & when he looked up he saw a growling purple eyed Walker. "Easy boy." said Leo, backing away from his mecha.

Walker lounged at Leo, but he had rolled away, he loaded SparkPlug, & aimed at Walker. "Bad dog." said Leo, firing SparkPlug who fried Walker.

Walker shook it off & roared at Leo. "I think I just made it worse." said a worried Leo, as he ran off with Walker chasing & roaring at him.

Leo ran by a large metal door, Walker stopped & examined the door, he neared it & violet electricity passed through the door & into the giant machine inside. A loud roar boomed out from the room, everyone even the raging mechas stopped & turned t face the door. Another roar was heard, along with loud stomps that shook the ground. And with one giant roar the metal door was knocked away & what stood in its was a giant black & purple eyed T-Rex mecha-beast. "What is that thing?!" asked Quiver

"Whatever it is it's actually pretty cool." awed Leo, but the T-Rex mecha swung its tail at Leo, but he dove out if the way.

"Still think it's cool?" asked Christi

"Actually, yeah I still think it's cool." answered Leo, he picked himself up & dodged Whisker who tried to tackle him. "But seriously what is that thing?"

"It's my latest project." answered Kord, as he knocked away Skip. "It's called the R-X model, or Rex. It's a giant monster that can travel long distances at high speeds, can transport a ton of supplies, & it comes with its own slinging system not to mention a GPS. It's a true work of art."

Rex tried to step on Quiver. "Well your work of art is a complete mess!" yelled Quiver as he avoided Rex's other foot, but then he was then kicked by Skip.

Leo fired Gasher as Christ fired her Armashelt but the 2 slugs didn't even scratch Rex. "That is seriously cool." chimed Leo, but he was knocked to the side by Skip.

"Quite falling in love with a machine, & help us out!" demanded Christi

Rex finally stopped moving, and then several blasters appeared. One from his mouth, 1 on each arm, 2 on the side, & one cannon on his tail. "That is really cool!" praised Leo "And plus it's useless he doesn't have any slugs."

Rex heard Leo, & it blasted violet electricity at him. Leo was zapped by it, & then he was tackled by Walker. Leo fell to the ground & rolled to the side as Rex's tail smashed the ground where he had fallen. "I guess I have no choice." said Leo, he then pulled out a slug tube with X inside. "You better give it your all."

"Don't worry I got this." assured X

Leo loaded him & fired him at Rex.

X used his Jambler move & the surge shot down all 5 of the raging mecha-beasts. "Did that do it?" asked Leo

Just then violet sparks emanated from the mecha-beasts, the sparks merged together & with a small flash of light a little violet slug with normal eyes fell to the ground. Leo examined the slug "Was that the problem?" asked Leo

"Hey, that's a Virtum slug!" said Christ excitedly

Leo picked up the Virtum "A what?" he asked

"A Virtum," answered Kord "They're a rare slug species that can turn into a virus or electricity to control electronics & technology."

"Ok, but why did you attack us?" asked Leo to the Virtum.

"I was a Hyper slug, but because I was in the mechas when you fired the Xmitter, I must have been cured." answered the Virtum, her voice gave away that it was a girl.

"You know a slug that acts like a virus is a really good game plan, how do you feel about joining my team?" asked Leo, the Virtum agreed by hopping into a slug tube. "I'll name you Virus."

"Congrats, you got a new slug." said Kord. "Now let my thank you kids by fixing up your mechas. And I'll tell you what I'll unlock the Glider mode & Water mode."

"How about the Vehicle Mode?" asked Leo

"Sorry, but I rather battle these mecha-beasts again than face the wrath of your overprotective parents, if I unlocked that feature." answered Kord, patting Leo on the back & knocking the wind out of him.

"Hey, Virus said that she was a Hyper." added Leo "So they probably did this to get you to sell. What are you going to do if they try this again?"

"Don't worry," answered Kord "they probably don't have allot of Virtums anyway, & we'll just use an Xmitter to fix the problem. So in other words Hyper will not be getting this Forge."


	24. Chapter 24

Choosing A Team Name

Leo & his friends hung out at the SlugIt where Leo was making up team names "How about the Shane Goers?"

"That's stupid." answered Garo

"The Shane Newbies?" offered Leo

"No." said Christi

"Then what?" asked Leo "We're not the official Shane Gang, so we need our own team name."

"Well keep thinking of names," said Garo "Because the list of names you just made up are terrible."

"I still like the Shane Sluggers." grumbled Leo

Christi got a message on her computer, she opened the email "Hey guys I just got a notice that there's some kind of trouble over at Botton and Spinx Cavern." she said with worry in her voice.

"Alright let's go Shane Rookies." said Leo, but his friends shook their heads in disagreement of the name.

They left for Botton & Spinx Cavern, as they entered the town they saw tons of damage, empty yellow & blue slug tubes scattered around everywhere, & no one was seen out in the streets. "What happened here?" asked Leo as they walked their mechas through the town.

They looked down the street to see a crowd of people shouting & debating with each other. Leo & his friends neared them, he could hear them debating on something, as they got closer they could hear the mayor, who stood in the middle if the crowd, telling the people that he will think of something. Leo parked Walker, & he approached one of the residents "What happened here?" Leo asked

"Hyper happened." answered the man

"Why did they do this?" asked Leo, gesturing to all the derby & damage.

"Hyper, came here today. They demanded that we give them 80% of our profits both of gold & slugs." answered the man

"And I'm guessing they didn't give you guys a chance to answered." said Leo, looking at more damage.

"Actually, they were no threat at all until we told them no, so they slugged us, threatened us, & they promised to return to hear our official answer, which is what our town is debating right now." answered the man

Leo heard all he needed, he squeezed through the debating & worried crowd, he made it to the center by the mayor who was desirably trying to calm the crowd. Leo loaded Save & fired him straight into the air, Save velacimorphed, he flew around over the crowd, attracting their attention & quieting them down. Save eventually flew back to Leo, transformed, & landed on his shoulder. "That's better." said Leo appreciating the silence.

"Who are you?" asked the Mayor

"I'm Leo Shane, I heard of your problem & I'm here to help." answered Leo

"Oh, right you're the newest Shane, right?" asked the Mayor

"That would be me." confirmed Leo

"Well I'm glad you're here, but I'm not quite sure how you would be able to help us." said the Mayor, trying not to disrespect Leo. "Is it possible that you'd call your father and..."

But Leo cut him off "My dad is off with another problem, me & the Shane Helpers are your only help." He said this only because he wants to prove that he & his friends can help anyone.

"Keep working on the name." said Quiver, rejecting the name Shane Helpers.

"Fine," said Leo, he turned back to the Mayor. "So will you allow us to help?" asked Leo

The Mayor pondered on the thought, he sighed, & answered "Fine, just please promise me you won't cause allot of damage or trouble."

"Not to worry, we'll have this problem solved before dinner." assured Leo, Save glowed brightly to emphasize the promise.

Soap licked his lips & chirped "Good because it's taco night." Leo ignored him.

The Mayor disbanded the crowd & had everyone to return home. "So when is Hyper supposed to get here?" asked Leo

"In about an hour." answered the Mayor

"Alright, in the meantime we'll think up a game plan." said Leo, the Mayor then left to seek shelter.

"So what's the game plan?" asked Christi

"I was actually hoping you guys would have one." answered Leo, rubbing the back of his head.

"Then how about we set up an ambush at the main entrance of the cavern." suggest Garo

"I like," agreed Leo "lets move Shane Busters."

Quiver shook his head, as Christi faced palmed, & Garo just walked away to Charger. They left for the entrance of the cavern, they took up several positions, readied their slugs, & waited for Hyper to return. They eventually showed up within the hour, with Jack leading the way, atop his red & orange raptor mecha the RZ-R model or Razor. "It's about time." whispered Leo, he loaded Slushy & waited for them to get closer.

Leo waited a few more seconds before, he nodded his head to signal his friends to open fire. He fired Slushy who created a giant ice wall to block Hyper's path. Jack stopped his mecha, as Logie hit him & stuck him to the ground. Garo fired his Grenuke that took out a few slingers, as Christi fired a Tormato that created a twister & it picked up several other slingers. "Way to go Shane 4!" cheered Leo

"The Shane 4?" asked a confused Jack, as he picked himself up. "That's a terrible name."

Leo was annoyed, he fired Pierce who used his Sandburr attack on Jack but Jack fired a Hyper Thresher that knocked Pierce away. The Hyper slingers opened fired. Christi fired a Polero at Jack from behind, but he launched a Hyper Tazerling, which zapped the Polero, as another Hyper slinger hit Christi with a Hyper Hop Rock. "That's what happens when you take a cheap shot!" jeered Jack, but he was hit by Garo's Hop Rock.

Leo fired Dumpster who managed to slam into several slingers, Christi hit a slinger with a Armashelt, as Garo punched one of the slingers in the face. Jack saw all what was happening, "I've had enough." he said he loaded Scorch, & aimed him at the ice wall.

Scorch melted the wall, he then flew around & blasted Leo & his friends with fire. Leo & his friends avoided the flames, as Jack led the slingers past the melted wall, & they charged the town, blasting anything they saw. "This is so not good." grudged Leo, as he watched Scorch fly back to the rampaging Hyper slingers & Jack.

Jack & the slingers fired on buildings & the people that fled from them. "I should have never trusted those kids." cursed the Mayor as he ran away from the Hyper slugs fired at him.

Leo hopped on Walker & sprinted into town with his friends tailing him. Leo fired Smasher, Christi fired a Rammstone as well, Garo launched CaveIn, & Quiver launched a Flaturlorinkus. The 4 slugs each hit & defeated a different slinger. "Push them back!" ordered Leo, leaving off Walker & firing Basher who smashed into a couple of slingers.

Leo & his friends continued to travel through the town, they helped out anyone that was in trouble, & they slugged any Hyper slinger they saw, but they were fighting back. "This is crazy!" yelled Christi as she avoided a Hyper Lavalynx that ended up melting a mecha-beast, she then fired a Thresher who chomped on a slinger's blaster.

"Just keep fighting!" shouted Leo, as he spotted Jack & Prize at him.

Jack saw the Geoshard flying at him & he jumped away at the last second. He fired a Hyper Rammstone at Leo, Leo fired Save who blasted a wave of energy turning the Hyper slug back into protoform, Save then blasted a spiral ray blast at Jack sending him flying backwards, & Save flew back to Leo. Jack picked himself up & fired Scorch, Leo fired Sorry who teleported Leo behind Jack. Jack spotted Leo behind him & he sweep kicked Leo's feet. Leo fell to the ground, as Jack aimed a Hyper Lavalynx at him. "Goodbye, Leo." smirked Jack, he fired the slug but the allusion Leo disappeared, & then Jack was hit by PitFall & he was sent falling backwards.

"Goodbye, Jack." sassed Leo, he loaded Ghost & fired him at Jack. Ghost velacimorphed, & he used his Frightningrod attack on Jack when he slammed into him. Jack looked around & he freaked at everything he saw, he hopped on his mecha & red off yelling at everyone to retreat. The slingers obeyed & they all ran off with their frightened commander & in defeat.

"Great job, Ghost." complimented Leo as he picked him up.

"Thanks." chirped Ghost, he then hopped back into Leo's backpack.

"We did it!" cheered Christi as she ran, she leaped into Leo's arms & hugged him, she leaped into him so hard that they spun around.

She quickly let go with a giant blush on her face as well as Leo's. Save & Jinx giggled and laughed at their slingers, Save even made kissing noises to tease Leo. Garo ran to them "We sure did!" cheered Garo as he picked Christi & Leo in a strangling huge.

Quiver approached "Ok you can put them down big guy." he said with a smile.

Garo put them down, the residents all left the buildings that they were hiding in, they cheered, & thanked Leo & his friends for their help. The Mayor shook Leo's hand "Thank you so much." he said

"You're very welcome." said Leo

"I would as like to apologize for doubting you." apologized the Mayor

"It's fine," said Leo "that kind of stuff just motivates me to do better anyway."

"Well you all did a great job." praised the Mayor

"We sure did, the Shane Strikers did a fantastic job." agreed Leo

"The Shane Strikers?" asked Christi "That should be our team name!"

"Really?" asked Leo excitedly

"The Shane Strikers, I like the sound of that." agreed Save

"Then that's our new team name," declared Leo "The Shane Strikers!"

* * *

**I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter, please leave a review or a suggestion, and thank you for reading my story.**

**P.S. more stuff is on the way.**


	25. Chapter 25

The Hunter

It has been an entire week since the Shane Strikers drove away Jack & his Hyper slingers from Botton & Spinx Cavern.

Eli stood just outside, with his blaster in his hand, & his back to the Hideout. "Where are you?" demanded Eli as he loaded Banger.

Leo appeared behind Eli from atop the Hideout, he aimed his blaster, & fired Trip at Eli. "Watch out Dad!" warned Tim who sat on a nearby rock, watching the duel.

Eli bent backwards & fired Banger. Banger knocked away Trip & zoomed at Leo. Leo jumped up & fired Weaver who pulled him to safety on the ground. "Tim," wined Leo "you're supposed to be watching the duel, not helping dad!" Leo then fired Star, but Eli fired Rocky who easily knocked away Star, & he nearly hit Leo.

Leo then jumped onto the side of a giant tree & he began climbing it like the Shadow Clan. He fire SparkPlug but Joules zapped him & he returned to protoform. Leo avoided Joules & he continued climbing, Eli fired a mega-morphed Buzzsaw who cut the branch of the tree, that Leo was climbing, causing it to collapse. Leo fired Soap & he grabbed on to his tentacles to lower him down. Leo fired Prize but Eli easily dodged the slug. Leo landed & fired Flight, Eli fired Chiller who froze Flight in a cube of ice. "Ready to give up?" asked Eli

"Never!" declared Leo, as he fired X into the air.

X used his Jambler move, both Eli's & Leo's blasters shut down. "I guess we have a tie." said Eli, putting away his blaster.

"Not quite." said Leo as he threw Heat at Eli. Heat velacimorphed & hit Eli. Leo the grabbed Save & readied to throw him. "Do you give up?" asked Leo

Eli reached behind his back "Um, no." he said, he pulled out a slug slingshot, he grabbed Burpy.

Leo threw Save & he velacimorphed as Eli launched Burpy with the slingshot. The 2 slugs raced at each other before Save was easily knocked aside by Burpy. Burpy then trapped Leo with flames. "Ok ok, I give, I give!" surrendered Leo

Burpy then turned back into protoform & he hopped back to Eli. "That was awesome!" cheered Tim as he ran up to Eli "You totally kicked Leo's butt!"

"No he didn't!" said Leo angrily

"Yeah he did, he totally beat you!" clarified Tim

"Whatever." grumbled Leo

Eli laughed "Leave him alone Tim, I beat him pretty good." Tim chuckled in agreement. Eli then turned to Leo "But Leo you shouldn't use your abilities like that, someone could see." said Eli

"But no one did." sassed Leo

"Hey Leo." greeted Christ who just showed up with Quiver & Garo.

Leo freaked out "Hey, guys!" said a nervous Leo "What are you doing here?"

"Don't you remember?" asked Christi

"We're going to go see a SlugBall game." reminded Garo

"Oh right I know that, I'll be right there." apologized Leo

Leo headed to the garage where Walker was waiting for him, luckily because he was inside the Jambler attack could not affect him. Leo got on him & they rode off for the SlugBall game.

Meanwhile, Brink talked to man in his office. The man there is tall, he appears to be very athletic, he has spikes orange red hair, he has high tech sunglasses on, a black shirt, a black jacket, with black pants & gloves, his blaster is black with grey linings, & he has a grey bandolier as well as a belt. "So am I clear?" asked Brink "You will get your money after you have eliminated the problem."

The man laughed "Just have the money ready, for when I return." The man then left the office.

The Shane Strikers were passing through a town trying to get to the SlugBall match, as the man watched them from atop a building. He pulled out a sniper blaster & he aimed right at an oblivious Leo. "So what were you & your dad doing before we got there?" asked Christi to Leo

"We were dueling." answered Leo

"I'm guessing you lost." said Garo

"Yeah, I sure did." confirmed Leo, just then the man fired a Hyper Speedstinger.

The Speedstinger hit Leo in the back of the head, Leo fell to the ground unconscious, as the slug ratcheted around & disappeared. "Leo! Are you alright?" asked Christi as they all pulled out their blasters.

Christi shook Leo but he didn't wake up, SparkPlug hopped out of his slug tube & zapped Leo awake. "What happened?!" asked Leo as soon as he woke up.

"Not sure." answered Christi

The man peered through his blaster to see Leo fine & his friends are reading their blasters. "Looks like you got lucky, kid." grudged the man as he left.

After that Leo figured that it must have be some sort of accident, so they all left for the SlugBall match. They got there just in tube for the game to start. They watched as the 2 teams faced off scoring goals after the other & epic crashes into obstacles. "This is epic!" cheered Quiver, as a SlugBall player was tackled.

"You bet it is!" agreed Leo as one of the players was hit by a Rammstone.

They watched the game up to the very end, before they decided to leave. "That was totally awesome!" said Garo as he hopped on Charger.

"I loved all the crashes & slinging." praised Leo as he hopped on Walker.

They decided to head to the SlugIt but as they had to pass through the same town that Leo was hit by the Speedstinger. The man from earlier watched them from atop a building, he loaded a Hyper Grenuke, & waited for the Shane Strikers to get closer. He fired the slug it velacimorphed & exploded in the middle of the Shane Strikers sending them flying in 4 different directions. "Is everyone ok?!" asked Leo, he picked himself up.

"I'm ok." answered Garo

"Me too." responded Christi

"Same here." answered Quiver, just then the man fired another Hyper Grenuke at them.

"Quick, scatter!" ordered Leo as he sprinted into a nearby alley way, as his friends scattered off too.

Leo looked around and he saw the man, on the other side of the street, firing a slug at Quiver. Leo checked to see if anyone was around, he then hopped onto & climbed the building like a gecko. He jumped to the roof & fired Gasher at the man. Gasher sliced the sniper blaster in 2. The man was surprised by the Thresher, he looked around to see Leo loading Trip. The grabbed his blaster & hit Leo with a Hyper Hop Rock, it sent Leo flying backwards, near the edge if the roof, & his blaster fell to the alley below. Leo checked behind him to see Garo returning fire at the man, who was trying to avoid being slugged. Leo grabbed Weaver & threw at his blaster, Weaver velacimorphed, grabbed the blaster, & reeled back up into Leo's hand. Leo grabbed the blaster, spun around, & fired Trip. Trip tangled around the man's waist, trapping his arms, & he fell to the street but he fell on a mammoth mecha-beast, that broke his fall, & then he fell onto the street. Leo smirked & hopped down from the roof, when no one was looking, he loaded Heat & aimed it the man as he picked himself up. Leo began charging his blaster "I would stay down if I where you." threatened Leo

The man laughed "That's funny, kid."

"Who are you?" asked Leo, as the rest of the Shane Strikers arrived.

"I'm the bounty hunter that Hyper sent to take you down." he answered

"Yeah, I figured out that part already." said Leo "But I don't know your name."

"The name's Hunter J." he introduced, he then sweep kicked Leo.

He then fired off a Hyper Hoverbug that snatched him up & flew him to safety on top of a roof. He turned around & fired a Hyper Tazerling which hit the mammoth mecha, the mecha roared as it was activated & it charged forward, but the Shane Strikers dove out of the way. Hunter J or just J, fired a Hyper Strang, the slug spun around hitting Leo & Quiver, it then tried to hit Christi but she dove out of the way, as the slug continued to spin around them. J fired a Hyper Armashelt that exploded when it smashed into Garo, the blast was so strong that all 4 of them were sent in different directions. "This guy is really getting annoying." grumbled Leo, he picked himself up just in time to avoid a Hyper Flaringo.

Hunter J hopped to another roof & fired 3 Hyper Hop Rocks. Garo fired CaveIn who smacked away 2 of the slugs, the 3rd however nearly hit Quiver. Leo ran to the alley closest to him, he quickly climbed up the wall, got to the roof, & fired Soaker. Soaker, well, soaked Hinter J & pushed him backwards. Leo hopped from roof to roof to get to Hunter J, as J fired slug after slug at him. Leo avoided every slug by dodging, or firing a slug of his own at them. Hunter fired a Hyper Frostcrawler that froze a roof top that Leo jumped on. Leo slipped & slide on the ice until he fell off the roof. Hunter J smirked thinking that Leo was defeated, he then turned & ran away to collect his paycheck. But what he didn't know was that Leo was perfectly safe by gripping the side of the building. Save looked around & spotted J running off. "There he is!" declared Save, pointing to J.

Leo jumped from wall to wall until he passed up an oblivious Hunter J. Leo jumped into J's path & he fired Prize at the surprised J. Prize velacimorphed & used his Crystalist move on J. The crystals encased J's entire body except for his head. "Looks like the Hunter became the hunted." jeered a victorious Leo, putting away his blaster.

Leo took a seat as he waited for his friends to finally show up, they eventually did, they called cavern security, & had them take Hunter J to Stalagmite 18 (The reinforced Stalagmite 17 is now Stalagmite 18). "Nice job, Leo." commented Christi

"Thanks," said Leo "I'm just glad that's over."

But little to anyone's knowledge, a thin shadowy guy with spiky hair sat at a computer with a strange red eyed slug on his shoulder, they watched Leo & his friends on the computer screen in a dark room. "Oh it is far from over." sneered the guy, as he replayed the videos of Leo climbing walls & velacimorphing slugs just by throwing them. "This is going to be fun." He sneered, as he strange slug laughed creepily.

* * *

**I hoped you guys like this chapter, I know it's a bit shorter then the most recent ones.**

**Please leave a review, and I would once again like to thank PLAINAWESOME for lending me an OC. (the guy at the computer). **


	26. Chapter 26

**Alright I guys here's another chapter and I promise that it is a good one, but is a bit long so sit back, grab a soda, and enjoy. **

**I would also like to thank these people for their awesome OCs dicarten-ice, Aist Elixie Fan Shane, & PLAINAWESOME! :) Thanks again guys.**

**And please leave a review or suggestion at the bottom.**

* * *

Blackmailed

A security slinger walked around the Slugterranian History Museum making sure no one is sneaking around. A figure ran behind him, he turned around, & aimed his flash light around trying to see what ran by. He figured it was just the wind, but little to his knowledge there was a thin intruder hiding behind a statue of a Thresher slug.

The thief was wearing a full mask with black goggles, he also has black & dark blue shirt, pants, gloves, & boots. He also has a black & dark blue blaster at his side along with a blue backpack.

The guard walked off, the intruder snuck by him & made his way to a room with a large gem encased behind a glass exhibit. The intruder made sure no one was around, he slipped past the alarm lasers, he got to the case, & pulled out an all too familiar Toxis slug. The Toxis seemed worried & troubled by being there, the intruder nodded in reassurance, the Toxis sprayed acid on the glass creating a hole, big enough for a hand to slip in. The intruder slipped his hand in, he grabbed the gem, & cautiously pulled it out. When it was out he sighed with relief, but a charge of a blaster was heard behind him. "Put your hands up." ordered the guard, who had his blaster aimed at the intruder.

The intruder put us hands up & turned around. "Who are you?" demanded the guard

But the intruder pulled out his blaster & fired an all too familiar Arachnet. The slug shot webbing at the guard pinning him to the wall, but as he was pulled back he activated the security system. An auto cannon popped out & began slinging slugs at the intruder. The intruder easily dodged the slugs as the guard struggled to get free, the intruder then fired a very familiar Frostcrawler that froze the cannon. The intruder sighed with relief, but the guard had freed himself & fired a Rammstone who punched the intruder in the face, & knocked away his googles. The intruder easily shook it off, he ran for the window, & picked up his goggles. The guard fired a Phosphoro so he can properly see the intruder, but all he saw was a metal eye patch on the left side of the intruder's face as he jumped through the window & escaped with the gem. "I am so fired." complained the guard

About an hour later the intruder snuck through the window of a home. He climbed the wall to a bedroom, he stepped to the floor, & just as he was about to enter all the lights turned on. "Leo where have you been?!" demanded Eli, with a drowsy Burpy on his shoulder.

"Nothing!" responded Leo trying to enter his room.

Eli stopped the door from closing & forced it open "Tell me right now!" he demanded

Leo sighed "Fine, that guy messaged me again & told me to steal this from the museum." answered Leo, holding out the gem he stole.

"You stole?" asked Eli "From the museum!"

"I'm sorry," apologized Leo "but what do you want me to do? If I don't do what he tells me to do then he'll send those videos to everyone & blow my secret."

Eli sighed "I know, just make sure no finds out about this, ok."

"Ok." agreed Leo, as a worried Save hopped over to him. Leo bent down & picked him up "How are you holding up Save?" asked Leo

"I'd be better if you'd let me come along." answered Save

"Sorry, bud but you're too recognizable for me to take along." apologized Leo. He then asked Eli "Has Aunt Karina figured out who is blackmailing me?"

Eli shook his head "She hasn't found anything yet, but don't worry this will all be settled soon." assured Eli

"Dad, it's been almost an entire week." said Leo "And that is what you said when this guy first messaged me that he has the videos. I can't keep doing this, I mean just tonight a guard knocked my goggles off & I'm pretty sure he noticed this." said Leo, tapping his eye patch.

"I know just deal with it until we can find a solution." said Eli, trying to cheer up Leo with no success.

"I'm off to bed." yawned Leo, he closed the door, threw his eye patch on his desk, he switched into P.J.s, collapsed on his bed, & passed out.

Leo slept for about 4 hours before he woke up to the sound of his computer receiving a call. Leo stretched & was about to answer when Save chirped "Wait!"

"What is it?" asked Leo

Save pointed to a mirror, Leo looked at it to see marker drawn all over his face. "Jokes!" growled an annoyed Leo, as Jokes laughed at his prank.

Leo wiped off the marker, Save pushed his eye patch to him, he placed it on, & answered the call. Christi appeared on the screen. She laughed "Hey...Leo...how's it...going?"

"What's so funny?" asked a confused Leo "Is there still marker on my face?"

"No that's not it." chuckled Christi

Leo looked back at he mirror to see a giant google eye pasted on his eye patch. "Jokes!" yelled a furious & embarrassed Leo, as his slugs laughed their heads off.

Leo ripped off the pasted eye "Hey Leo." called Christi

"Yeah?" asked Leo

"Nice PJs." she teased, pointing to Leo's fire patterned pajamas. Leo shrugged down in embarrassment. "Anyway, are you coming to the SlugIt today?" asked Christi "You haven't been hanging out with us lately. I something the matter?" She looked worried as she asked this.

"No, no, I just have some other responsibilities to deal with right now." answered Leo

"So are you going to join us today?" she asked

Leo was about to answer yes when a message was sent to him from his blackmailer. "I'm sorry, but I won't be able to go today here." apologized a depressed Leo

"Oh I see, well I guess we'll see you around." responded a disappointed Christi

"Sorry." apologized Leo, Christi just hung up.

Christi sat in her room after hanging up on Leo. "Why won't he tell me what's wrong?" she asked Jinx who just shrugged. "Is it something I did?"

Back in Leo's room an annoyed Leo forwarded the message to Karina so she could track its signal. He then switched into his stealth cloths, he grabbed his blue & black blaster, & he placed the mask & goggles over his head. "Lets go guys." said a depressed Leo picking up his temporary black bandolier.

Save tried to hop into a slug tube, but Leo grabbed him & placed him in the bed. "Sorry, buddy. But like I said before, you're dead giveaway." apologized Leo, he walked out his room, & he told Eli that he was off for another mission but he didn't tell him where.

Eli sighed "Fine just be careful." Leo then left for Botton & Spinx Cavern.

He didn't bother to take Walker, instead he used the Shadow Walker (the same one hide in the bushes in Ch.3) to get to Botton & Spinx. He teleported on top of a building. "I just saved this place," said a depressed Leo "now I have to raid it."

He made sure that his mask & goggles were on, he then snuck into the air vent of the building he was on top, he crawled through the vent, & made his way to an office with a small safe inside. Leo exited the bent, he snuck over the vault, he placed a silencer mod on his blaster, & fired Venom at the safe. She melted the safe to allow Leo to steal all the funds inside, he groggily placed the money in a bag, he took a little of it & placed in the desk so the people still had something, & then he snuck back through the vent & moved onto the next building & did the exact same thing to next 4 buildings.

Meanwhile, the rest of the Shane Strikers were passing through Botton & Spinx because they wanted to get some new blaster mods. "Somebody help!" screamed a woman "I've been robbed!"

The Shane Strikers rode up to her. "What's the matter?" asked Garo

"Somebody stole all my gold!" explained the woman

"So a thief." said Christi

"Maybe, it was Snatch." suggested Quiver

"Maybe." said Christi

"Look up there!" shouted a passerby, pointing to a rooftop.

The Shane Strikers looked to the roof to see a thief (Leo) hoping from roof to roof with a full bag of money. "There's the thief." said Christi, she loaded a Hop Rock & fired it at the thief (Leo). The Hop Rock smashed into Leo & exploded sending him falling to the street, but he was able to land on his feet. Leo looked up to see his friends on their mechas, loading slugs, & charging at him. Leo he's rotated to react allowing his friends to hit him with their Rammstones. "This is so not good." said Leo, as he rubbed his head & he picked himself up.

He then leaped out of the way of Logie, but then he was hit by CaveIn. Leo quickly jumped back off & fired Weaver. Weaver spun around Quiver & Garo trapping them in webbing. Christi loaded a Tormato & fired it at Leo. The Tormato blasted high winds at Leo pushing him backwards & crashing into a wall. Leo shook his head, he loaded Trip & fired him at Christi, who easily fmdodged him but she did notice that the Polero was very familiar. "Was that Trip?" asked Christi to Jinx, who was perched on her shoulder, she just shrugged to give the message that she was not sure. "No it can't be." she said but then she was drenched by Soaker.

"Sorry." mumbled a sorry Leo as he pulled out his Shadow Walker & disappeared.

"Where'd he go?!" asked Garo after he had freed himself & Quiver.

"Not sure." answered a suspicious Christi. "Hey guys lets go pay Leo a visit."

Meanwhile, Leo had teleported himself to Bullseye Cavern, where Slugterra University is located. Leo looked around to see tons of buildings, he took of the mask & goggles. He then spotted the teachers' office building, he then teleported himself into the basement of the building, where Karina's office a located or rather the entire basement is hers. Leo looked around to see tons of shelves filled with books. Leo spotted his Aunt Karina Shane, Eli's younger sister, fiddle on her computer with Jake by her side. "Have you figured anything out yet?" asked Leo as he approached them.

Karina stood up so now Leo could see her. She has black blue hair, her bangs cover her right eye, her hair only gets to her shoulders, but is shaped in "V". She is tall for her age, same skin color as Eli and blue eyes like Eli. She also has a scar over her left eye. She' wearing the same outfit as Eli, but also uses a red shirt, a black jacket over top with white outlines, dark blue pants and black combat boots, fingerless black gloves that are almost like Eli's, her bandoleer is strapped over her chest, & she has a backpack like Eli's. She also has a female Infurnace, named Saphira, perched on her shoulder.

"Leo!" said a surprised Jake

"What are you doing here?" asked Karina

"I wanted to see if you guys figured anything out yet." answered Leo

"Well we have some good news & some bad news." responded Jake

"What is it?" asked Leo

"The bad news is that mom hasn't figured out where this guy is sending messages from." answered Jake

"But the good news is that we have a plan to find him." finished Karina

"Really, what is it?" asked Leo

"We'll use this." answered Jake, holding out a plain gold coin.

"We'll bribe him?" asked a confused Leo

"No," snapped Jake "you see this coin is actually a tracking device."

"So when you have over the gold & gem you stole we'll stash this device in there." finished Karina

"Wait, how did you know that I stole that gem & gold?" asked Leo. Karina changed computer screen to show a new article about a gem burglar & a notice about the situation that happened minutes ago in Botton & Spinx. "Oh, that's how you knew."

"Yeah, you're more famous as a thief than as a Shane." teased Jake

"And what is that supposed to mean?" asked an annoyed Leo

"Oh nothing." answered Jake, as Speedy his Speedstinger laughed.

Meanwhile, Christi, Garo, & Quiver rode their mechas to the Shane Hideout. They stepped off their mechas & they knocked on the door to have Eli answer. "Hey guys how's it going?" greeted Eli

"We're fine, Mr. Shane." answered Garo

"We were hoping that we could talk to you real quick." added Christi

"That's fine," said Eli "please come in." He had them sit down. "So what is it you need to ask me?"

Christi looked around to see the garage door open & Walker parked inside. "Is Leo here?" she asked

Eli shook his head "Sorry he's not here right now."

"Then why is Walker here?" asked Christi pointing to the garage & Walker.

"Oh well Leo didn't need to take Walker with him." answered Eli

"Then where is he & what is he doing?" asked Christi

Eli hesitated to answer. "Well you see I have him running around with Kord to run some errands." he lied

"He hasn't hung out with us because he had to run errands?" asked Christi, who was not buying the story.

"Well I also had him take care of some Shane business." lied Eli

"But we're the Shane Strikers," snapped Christi "we're the junior Shane Gang & if one of us has a mission then we all have a mission." Eli was getting a bit nervous now. "I'm sorry Mr. Shane, but I do not buy your lie, I mean Leo hasn't been talking to any of us & if nothing was wrong than why is Save here!" snapped Christi as she stood up in anger & pointed at Save who tried to stay out of sight by hiding in a mug.

Eli was very surprised by this, he sighed "Alright, I'll tell you the truth. Leo has been blackmailed for the last week now, & if he doesn't do what he is told then his secret will be revealed to everyone."

"Secret?" asked a confused Christi "What secret?" she asked as Save cowered down into the mug.

Leo walked out into the middle of a clearing, he placed the bag of gold & the gem down by a boulder. Leo then teleported away back to Karina's office. "Are we good?" he asked Karina & Jake.

"Yup, the tracker is in place & we're ready to go." answered Jake

"Great." responded Leo

They waited a couple of minutes before they got a notice that the tracker was on the move. They waited for the track to stop. "Alright we have our location." said Karina

"Then lets get going." said Leo, he pulled out the Shadow Walker, Jake & Karina grabbed it as well, & they teleported about a mile away from the tracker's location. "We're here." said Leo looking around to see them surrounded by trees & rocks.

"Alright get going Leo." ordered Karina

"Wait, you guys aren't coming?" asked a confused Leo

"Don't you remember the plan?" asked Jake "You are going to go over there, fire off X, & disable all technology. And we are going to stay out of the blast radius so if anything goes wrong, we can have working blasters to help you."

"And since you can sling slugs without a blaster, you should be fine." added Karina

"Alright then, time to get done payback." smirked Leo, as loaded X, & teleported away to the tracker's location.

He found himself inside a giant warehouse, he snuck through a dark hallway following a device that showed the location of the tracker. He followed it until he came up to a opened door. Leo peered through the door to see a giant computer & someone seated in a chair, with the bag sitting on the ground, but Leo could not see the person because of the tall seat. Leo then heard the growling & chirping a slug, but he actually could not understand a single word that the slug was saying. Leo didn't wait for anything to happen he fired off X who blasted a surge of energy through the entire warehouse shutting off all the electronics in the building & the all the lights. Leo grabbed Magma & he approached the person. "Surrender before you get melted." threatened Leo, but he actually couldn't see the blackmailer.

The blackmailer laughed evilly "Very impressive that you found out my location."

"I didn't come here to impress you." said Leo, as he grabbed the bag and tied it to his belt.

"Let me guess you came to arrest me." jeered the blackmailer

"I came to take you down." answered Leo

The blackmailer laughed "I don't think so."

He pulled out his blaster & fired a slug, but all that happened was that the blackmailer disappeared. Leo looked around but then he was hit an Armashelt that blasted him out of the room, but something felt weird about that slug to Leo it felt very dark to him but it appeared t be a normal Armashelt. Leo picked himself back up "How are you able to use a blaster?" asked Leo "I fired an Xmitter your blaster should be shut down."

He was then hit by a normal looking Hop Rock but it too felt strange & dark to Leo. "I have my tricks, you have yours." answers the blackmailer.

Leo picked himself up again, he grabbed Star in his other hand, & threw her. She light up the entire room, Leo looked around the warehouse but he could not see his blackmailer. "Who are you?" demanded Leo

The blackmailer laughed creepily "I am your worst fear." he answered as he fired a normal looking Bubbaleone at Star who trapped it in its stomach, but like the other slugs something felt off about that slug too. "But if you really want to know, they call me Eclipse." declared the blackmailer, as a Thresher, it also felt strange, zoomed at Leo but he blocked it with his temporary blaster rendering it useless.

Leo was then hit by a strange Rammstone, he was knocked against the wall, Eclipse then fired a strange Lavalynx at Leo, but just before it could hit him a megamorphed Saphira flew by & knocked away the slug. "Leo are you ok?!" calked Karina as she entered the warehouse with Jake.

"I'm fine." answered Leo

Karina helped Leo to his feet as Jake aimed at Eclipse. "Keep away from my cousin you creep!" ordered Jake

Eclipse didn't answer he just fired off his normal looking Thugglet, that also felt dark, that made Eclipse disappear. Jake looked around & he put his blaster saying "I guess he got away."

"I guess so." said Leo.

They walked out the warehouse to be met by Eli & the rest of the Shane Strikers. "Hey bro. What are you doing here?" asked Karina to Eli, as Leo tried to hide behind Jake.

"We're here for Leo." answered Eli.

Leo was worried he pulled out his Shadow Walker & he was about to teleport away when Christi spoke up "Leo we know your secret!"

Leo was stunned, ready to panic, & ready to flee. "It's alright Leo." said Eli "You don't need to hide."

Leo took a breath & nervously stepped to his father & his friends. "Hey guys." said Leo, as Save hoped over to him. "Hey buddy."

"Hey Leo, steal any god or gems lately." jeered Garo

Leo was really freaking out now. "But it's not your fault, it was that blackmailer was yours." added Christi "I mean being part Shadow Clan is a big secret to have,"

Leo was stunned "You actually told them?!" he asked Eli

"Yes, I did." answered Eli

"Why?!" asked Leo "Why would you tell them, when all my life you told me to keep it a secret! So why would you tell anyone?!"

"Because they can be trusted." answered Eli

Leo was still confused "Your dad told us everything." added Christi "He told us about your accident, his the Shadow Clan saved you as well as Save, & that you had to train with them."

"Yeah now you guys think I'm a complete freak." said Leo

His friends laughed "Are you kidding?!" asked a chuckling Quiver

"Yeah, being part Shadow Clan only makes you that much cooler." complimented Garo

"Really?" asked a hopeful Leo

"Really." answered Christi, assuring that Leo's secret is safe with them.

After they promised not to spread the secret Leo showed them his glowing green left eye & his black and green patterned left arm, & then told them about Eclipse and that his slugs seemed normal but they felt dark & evil.

Meanwhile, Eclipse watched Leo & the group from afar. And now anyone could see how he looks. He has black hair, green eyes, & he only appears to be about 15 years old. He's wearing a white zipper hoodie, long black pants, a black backpack, a bandolier that makes an X shape across his chest, he has slug tubes in his bandolier & belt, he has a black with white lined blaster, a necklace with many velacimorphed Thresher teeth on it, & a Thugglet perched in his shoulder. "Enjoy your victory for now Leonardo." he sneered. "For it won't last long." He then faced his Thugglet. "Isn't that right, Shadow?" he asked the slug. The Thugglet jumped off & returned back into a Smugglet ghoul as well as turning all the slug tubes back to red, & turned all the normal looking slugs back into ghouls. He loaded Shadow, his Smugglet, into his blaster, pulled the trigger, & he disappeared as Leo & his friends headed for home & to return the gold & the gem.


	27. Chapter 27

**Here's another chapter, sorry for the wait, & please leave a review or a suggestion at the end. **

**Chracters from Slugterra Slug It Out will appear. Disclaimer: I do not own Slugterra. **

* * *

Yo-Ho-Ohooooo

"When did this go wrong?" asked Leo to his friends as he mopped the deck of a pirate ship.

(Earlier that same day)

"Open fire!" ordered a Hyper slinger who stood on top of a large metal trailer, which is full of Hyper slugs, & being pulled by a mammoth mecha-beast

The other slingers on the trailer or on mechas obeyed & open fired on the Shane Strikers, who were chasing after them. Leo swerved Walker away from a Hyper Hop Rock. "That one was close." said Leo as he sped up.

Garo fired CaveIn who created a trench in the slingers' path, & their mechas' legs fell into the trench causing them to crash. "Nice shooting." complimented Leo as he passed up Garo who managed to pick up CaveIn.

Leo fired Gasher who managed to slice through a mecha's leg, causing it to fall & crash with its rider. Leo sped by them & he managed to grab Gasher. "Nice job." complemented Christi, as he rode past Leo.

Leo smiled gratefully but then he was hit by a Hyper Jellyish, but all it did was cover him in slime. Christi giggled as Leo wiped away the slime.

They continued to chase & fire on the Hyper trailer & slingers until they reached a flume. "Don't let them get to the water!" ordered Leo, he fired Bomb who grabbed onto a mecha & exploded, destroying the mecha & sending the slinger flying.

Garo & Quiver fired Rammstones that each clobbered a slinger as Leo fired Rocket that blasted flames at the trailer trying to break it. But eventually the mammoth mecha & trailer made it to the water, they converted into water mode, & they sped on the flumes. The Shane Strikers reverted their mechas to water mode & they tried to catch up to the Hyper slingers. Leo fired Soaker who dove into the water & propelled one of the Hyper mechas out of the water, crash into the ceiling of the tunnel, & then crash back down into the water. Soaker swam back to Leo, "Great job, buddy." complimented Leo as Soaker hopped into a slug tube.

They chased the slingers up until they reached a fork in the flumes. The Shane Strikers sped up as fast as they could. The Hyper slingers entered the tunnel on the left, they fired Hyper Frostcrawlers that froze the water & created a giant ice wall. The Shane Strikers were moving too quickly to stop, so they swerved into the right tunnel. "Let's hurry it up," said Leo "maybe we can catch up it get indent if them." They sped up their mechas as fast as they could through the tunnel until they spotted an exit.

"There it is!" pointed out Quiver, they sped up even more towards the exit.

"Do you guys here that?" asked Garo

"Hear what?" asked Christi

Garo examined the exit "That!" he shouted pointing to the exit which was actually a cliff with a water fall.

"Turn back!" shouted Leo as they swerved their mechas around & tried to fight the current.

"It's no good," said Quiver as the mechas were slowly being pulled into the waterfall "we're caught in the current."

They desperately tried to get away, but the current was too strong, & they ended up being trapped in the water fall that washed them away into Undertow Cavern. The mecha-beasts popped out if the water first followed by Leo who scrambled to get ahold of Walker & to catch his breath, as Save jumped out of the water & collapsed on Leo's head. Leo looked around to see Garo popping out of the water, followed by Christi, & finally Quiver. "Is everyone ok?" asked Leo, when he finally caught his breath.

"I'm fine." answered Christi

"Same here." responded Garo, as he seated himself on Charger.

"I'm ok too." replied Quiver

Leo hopped onto Walker "Then lets go find that Hyper cargo." said Leo

"I guess, but where do we find it?" asked Christi as she seated herself on Skip.

"Don't know," answered Leo "but lets have a look, maybe we can find it."

"Lets ask them." suggested Quiver pointing to a far off ship.

"Alright," agreed Leo "what can go wrong?" he asked as they sped off toward the anonymous ship.

(Present Time)

"What could go wrong?!" said Christi "What could go wrong?! What did go wrong was that you decide to ask these pirates for help!" answered Christi who was sweeping the deck. "And thanks to you our slugs have been taken, we don't have our blasters or our mechas, & not to mention these goons have us doing their chores!"

"I'm sorry," apologized Leo "but how was I supposed to know that these guys were pirates?" he was then smacked in the back of the head by one of the pirates.

"Keep it quiet," the pirate ordered "the captain is on deck."

Leo looked to see a giant fish pirate walking into the deck. "That must be the captain." whispered Leo to his friends.

The giant fish cleared his throat "May I present the controller of the tide, the smartest of pirates, the master of the seas, & the great & powerful Captain Reilly!" declared the pirate, he stepped to the side to reveal the captain.

"Alright," said Reilly "where my newest members of me crew?" the other pirates all pointed at the Shane Strikers. She walked over to them "How are you four enjoying the fine cruise through Undertow?" she asked

"It would be better if you'd let us go." growled Leo

"Now why would I do that?" laughed Reilly. Leo just growled. "And besides all you really want is this." sneered Reilly holding up a capped slug tube with Save inside.

"Save!" called Leo, he tried to reach for Save, but the other pirates all grabbed their blasters & they began to charge them. Making Leo puts his hand down.

"There we go," said Reilly "that's more like it." She threw Save into the air & then caught him in her other hand. "You know you maybe kids but you have it had some pretty rare & high prices slugs." Leo growled as Reilly laughed & walked off.

One of the pirates smacked Leo's head again "Get back to work." he ordered.

Leo & his friends had obey so they continued with the chores until the pirate went off somewhere else. "We have to get out of here." whispered Leo to his friends

"But how?" asked Garo "If we do anything these guys will slug us, not to mention, we don't have anything to defend ourselves with or have a way to escape."

"I guess you're right." said Leo "But we can't just stay here & do nothing."

"Why don't you use that Shadow Walker thingy to get us out of here?" asked Quiver

"I told you, I don't have it." answered Leo

"And why not?" asked Quiver

"Because I can't risk having my secret revealed, & having Shadow tech around can jeopardize that. Not to mention a powerful device like that in the hands of thugs, like these pirates, would be very bad." explained Leo

"Then what can we do?" asked Christi

Leo thought about what to do "Lets just wait a bit so I can think up something" answered Leo

Meanwhile, Reilly carried Save down to the bottom of the ship. She held him up & laughed "You're going to be a very profitable slug."

Save growled & spat his younger out at her. Reilly just laughed, she uncapped Save's tube & tossed him behind a ray shielded room. Save peeped out of the tube to see all the Shane Striker slugs & allot of other slugs. "Save!" called Return

"Are you ok?" asked Jinx as the other slugs hopped around to see him.

"I'm fine." chirped Save as he examined the very small room.

"Do you know where everyone is?" asked CaveIn

"Yeah," answered Save "they're on the deck."

"Oh no!" screamed Logie "Those pirates are going make them walk the plank!"

"What? No!" snapped Save "They are not going to do that to them."

"How can you be so certain?" asked Virus

"I'm not." replied Save "But the longer we wait around, the more certain I'll be that our friends will be at greater risk."

"Then what should we do?" asked Dumpster

Save turned to Venom "Can you create a hole with your acid?" he asked

"I already tried that." answered a disappointed Venom.

Save pondered for a bit, he looked around the room again, he noticed a pirate guarding the room, he then looked at all the slugs that were trapped there as well until he passed up alone MakoBreaker. "Good luck finding a way out." scowled the MakoBreaker

"And why do you say that?" asked Save

The MakoBreaker grunted "Look around this room is meant to keep slugs in with no way out except when a slug is sold off or too annoying to keep around." he answered.

Save grinned "I have an idea." he chirped, hopping off to the rest of the slugs leaving the MakoBreaker by himself.

About a few minutes later all the slugs in the room began to chirp loudly & create as much noise as they could make. The pirate peered through the ray shield to see all the slugs chirping, making faces, or jeering at him. "Cut that out!" he ordered, hitting his fist against the shield, but the slugs became louder & more annoying. The pirate eventually had enough he turned off the ray shield "I'm going to teach you stupid slugs some manners." he growled, as he pounded his fist.

"Now!" ordered Save.

Every single slug, except the MakoBreaker, jumped on the pirate & they did whatever they could to attack him. The pirate freaked out, that he was being attacked by slugs. The pirate tried to run off, from all the slugs, but Slips slide under his foot & the pirate slipped & fell. SparkPlug & the other Tazerlings, that were trapped, zapped the pirate to submission as all the other slugs picked him up & threw him into the room, as Driller turned the ray shield back on, trapping the pirate. The pirate lounged at the slugs only to hit the shield. He pounded on the shield & demanded that he be sent free. But all the slugs did was hop off, except Sorry who decided to spit his younger out & laugh at the pirate before joining the others.

The slugs hopped through the small hallway until they were met by a locked door. "Now what?" asked a slug

"You thank me." sneered the MakoBreaker

Save turned around to see the same MakoBreaker leaning against a set of key. "When did you get those?" demanded Save

"While you all were attacking that pirate, I snatched his keys before you guys foolishly threw him in there without thinking." answered the MakoBreaker, he hopped into the door, made his way to the look, he I steered a key, & unlocked the door.

The MakoBreaker hopped down, opened the door, & he took a bow. The other slugs thanked him, except Save who said "You just got lucky."

"Actually, you got lucky." sassed the MakoBreaker, as Save & him caught up to the rest if the group.

As soon as they got of the room they were blocked by 5 giant fish pirates staring down at the escaping slugs. "This is so not good." complained Save.

They all tried to escape the pirates but before they knew it they were back where they started, behind the ray shield. "I guess we did just get lucky." said a disappointed Save

"And now our luck just ran out." added the MakoBreaker

Meanwhile, back on the deck the Shane Strikers were still at work. Captain Reilly was watching everything go on as she stood on the top mast. "Captain Reilly, I have something to tell you!" called a pirate

Reilly grabbed a rope & swing herself down to the pirate. "What is it, Avaster Plume?" she demanded

"Well captain it's about our new crew members." answered Plume

"And let me guess you're worried that they'll create mutiny?" guessed Reilly

"Well that, but also I recognized that kid with the metal eye patch." answered Plume

"Well who is he?"

"I think he's that new Shane we've been hearing about."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

Reilly grinned "Well how do you like that things just keep getting more profitable."

"Profitable?" asked a confused Plume

"Yes," answered Reilly "if he's a Shane than his family will do anything to get him back alive, even if they have to pay for him."

"Are you suggesting that we sell him to his own family?" asked a grinning Plume

"Yes, but we could also get a better price from the Hyper organization." replied Reilly "Go & call someone from Hyper I want me some gold." Plume nodded & walked off to call Hyper.

Leo heard everything they said "Did you guys here them?" asked Leo

"We sure did." answered Quiver

"And knowing Hyper the last thing they want to do is pay for anything." added Leo

"What are you saying?" asked Christi

"I'm saying that things are about to get very hectic." answered Leo

"So we got to get out of here." said Garo

Leo pondered for a bit "When Hyper gets here they're most likely going to fight rather pay for anything, so in the middle of the chaos we slip away, search the boat, get our stuff, & get the heck out of here." Leo explained trying not to let the pirates overhear him.

They worked for about 20 minutes before a Hyper ship pulled up to the pirate ship. A pirate walked over to Leo "Cone here, boy." he ordered side Leo's arm & pulling him to the side of the boat where Reilly & Plume were waiting.

So the Hyper slingers could see him. "Here he is as we promised." a bounced Reilly to the slingers.

One of the slingers nodded "Alright we'll come over & get him." he said

"And you'll keep your promise?" asked Reilly

"Of course." answered the Hyper slinger, as a couple of other slingers smirked. "Just let me go get the money." he said, he then turned around & walked a couple of feet before turning around & firing off a Hyper Hop Rock that exploded on the side of the ship.

"Those lying rats!" growled Reilly as she grabbed her blaster & began slinging slugs at the Hyper slingers who fired back.

In a matter of seconds very pirate & every Hyper slinger were slinging away at each other. "This is our chance." said Leo, he threw down the mope, & they ran for the bottom of the ship.

Leo opened the door to bump into a pirate. The guy growled as he tried to punch Leo. Leo ducked down, grabbed the guy's arm, & flipped him over & snagged the guy's keys. "Let's move." said Leo as he ran through the hallway & saw several rooms. "Let's search these rooms." said Leo, the entire ship shook due to a Grenuke going off.

Meanwhile, on the deck the pirates & slingers continued to slug it out. "Quite lacking off & slug those rats!" ordered Reilly as she fired an Arachnet that webbed up several slingers that managed to get on her ship.

"Captain!" calked Plume

"What is it?!" asked Reilly as she fired an Armashelt.

"Should try to capture the other boat?" he asked as he threw a slinger over the side if the boat & into the water.

Reilly smirked "Why not?" she answered

Meanwhile, the Shane Strikers searched the rooms Garo found their mechas, Christi found their blasters, & all Leo found was the captain's quarters. "Look what I found!" called Quiver

The rest of the Shane Strikers ran over to him, Quiver opened the door to reveal a small room with all of their slugs behind a ray shield. "There you guys are." said Leo as he ran over to them & shut off the shield only to be attacked by very grateful slugs. "Alright alright, I missed you guys too." said Leo trying to get his slugs under controlled.

"Sorry, Leo we just missed you." apologized Save

"It's alright bud, but we don't have time for a reunion." said Leo, as his friends gathered their own slugs.

"Hey Leo what do we do about the rest of these slugs?" asked Christi

Leo examined the rest of the slugs to see that there were way too many for them to carry or to get them on their mechas. Leo then peered through a small window to see the Hyper boat. "We're going to have to take that Hyper ship." answered Leo

"What, why?" asked Quiver

"That ship is small enough for us to handle & big enough to get all the slugs, our mechas, & us out of here." clarified Leo

"Alright, then how are we getting on that ship?" asked Garo

"Simple." answered Leo as he loaded & fired Bomb at the wall.

Bomb exploded & created a massive hole in the side of the ship. "Alright, Shane Strikers we're going to take control of that ship, & then we'll load up the rest of these slugs & our mechas.

His friends nodded their heads in agreement as well as loading slugs into their blasters. They fired off Arachnets that swung the 4 of them over to the Hyper boat. Leo peered over the edge to see pirates & slingers slinging & fighting each other. The Shane Strikers snuck over to the control wheel. "Alright let's get rid of these guys." said Leo as he loaded Save.

He fired Save who managed to blast all the slingers & pirates off the boat & into the water. "Nice job body." said Leo as he picked up Save & Garo steered the boat next to the the giant hole.

When the boat got next to the hole the MakoBreaker ordered & led all the captured slugs into the boat. As soon as all the slugs were aboard, Leo looked around to examine the slugs until he noticed the MakoBreaker "You're a powerful slug, how would you like to get done payback?" asked Leo

The MakoBreaker grinned & nodded in agreement. Leo loaded the slug & then fired him at the side of the boat. Reilly noticed the velacimorphing MakoBreaker, "No not my ship!" she screamed as the slug smashed & took a giant bite out if the side of the ship.

As soon as the slug transformed back into protoform, the mechas floated out, luckily they were still in Water mode, & water gushed into the ship. The Shane Strikers fired off Arachnets that reeled in their mechas. "Alright we got everything now let's go." demanded Quiver, & Garo steered the boat away from the ship.

The Hyper slingers finally noticed what was happening. "Everyone back to the boat!" ordered a slinger

They tried to get back to the boat, but it was already too late. Reilly & her pirates laughed "Looks like you got what you deserved." she smirked

The Hyper slingers smirked as the ship shook a bit & began to sink slowly. "Looks like you got what you deserved, too." teased a slinger as the Shane Strikers boated away from the pirates.

"Nice job, matties!" complimented Leo, but his friends just shook their heads at the bad joke. Leo then picked up the MakoBreaker "Especially you."

"Thanks." said the MakoBreaker

"How would you like to join my team?" asked Leo

"If I get to chomp on other goons like today then sure." answered the MakoBreaker

"Oh trust me you'll get to, & I think I'll name you Shipwreck." responded Leo

"So what are we going to do with the rest of these slugs?" asked Christi

"I say we each get one to join our team & I'm sure we can get the rest of these guys a home somewhere." answered Leo as they headed into a flume & out of Undertow.


	28. Chapter 28

**Another chapter for you guy, please leave a review or a suggestion at the end.**

**I would also like point out a major typo in my last chapter. When I typed: Save growled and spat his ****younger**** out at her. I meant to put ****tongue**** not ****younger**** the autocorrect changed it when I wasn't paying attention.**

* * *

Ice To Know You

The Shane Strikers have decided to go to SnowDance cavern to see Trixie's latest movie, the same one that they had to duel the monsters. "You guys are really going to like this move," chirped Save "especially when..." but Leo cut him off

"Shhh, don't spoil anything!" shushed Leo as he parked Walker by his friends.

"Shh, quiet Leo, the movie's starting!" shushed Christi as the movie began.

But little did they know that a Hyper slinger was watching them from afar with a Hyper Flaringo perched on his shoulder. "I see my target." said Jack into his intercom. "I'm ready to attack." He pulled out his blaster & loaded a Hyper Hop Rock.

Leo was enjoying the movie until he heard the charge of a blaster from afar. Leo turned around only to see a Hyper Hop Rock flying at them. "Watch out!" shouted Leo, as he loaded & fired Rocket who was able to hit the Hyper slug with flames. The Hyper slug crashed nearly hitting other movie watchers, after the slug exploded every person in the cavern panicked & rode off to get away from the other Hyper slingers that appeared. "Hyper's here." said Leo as he fired off Slushy who created an ice barricade to give the Shane Strikers cover.

"Man, why can't we ever do something & not get attacked?" complained Christi

"Then lets let these guys know that we don't want them here." responded Leo as he fired Return who managed to knockout & hit several of the slingers.

"Agreed." responded Garo as he fired off CaveIn that nearly hit Jack, but Jack dodged the slug, & CaveIn smashed into a slinger instead.

Jack loaded a Hyper Lavalynx & fired it at the Shane Strikers, Leo fired off Smasher who redirected the Hyper slug, but the Hyper Lavalynx crashed into the glacier melting a hole into the wall. "You better be careful, Leo, we don't want this glacier to fall on us." cautioned Garo, he fired an Armashelt that clobbered a couple of slingers.

"I know, I know." responded Leo, he then fired Soaker that managed to use his Cyclonator attack to wash away a bunch of slingers, & he nearly washed away Jack.

Jack growled, he fired off a Hyper Phosphoro, the Shane Strikers just ducked down to avoid the light, & as they ducked down Jack took the opportunity to charge the Shane Strikers. He jumped over their ice barricade & managed to kick Leo in the face. "Didn't see you there." teased Jack as he loaded a Hyper Armashelt.

Leo growled & he lounged at Jack, he managed to pin him to the ground & they began to wrestle until Jack managed to kick Leo away. Jack then fired the Hyper Armashelt, but Leo ducked down to have the Hyper slug crash into the glacier wall making the hole bigger. Leo then fired Magma, but Jack fired a Hyper Tormato that managed to use his Slyphoon attack to send Magma flying backwards & crashing into the glacier making the hole even bigger. The Tormato continued its Slyphoon attack that picked up Leo, "Take that Shane!" smirked Jack, as the Hyper Tormato raged on towards him.

"What are you doing?" asked Jack "Stay back!" he ordered but he was picked up into the twister as well.

The Tormato raged on, it neared the hole, & then blew both Leo & Jack through the hole & into the glacier. "Leo!" called Christi, as the Tormato raged on even more, the winds it was created were so strong that ice & snow collapsed & blocked the hole.

"Please tell me, that Leo was not in the glacier?" asked Quiver

"Sorry Quiver, but he is in there along with Jack Burns." answered Christi as the Hyper slingers fired more Hyper slugs at them.

Meanwhile, inside the glacier Leo & Jack were picking themselves. Leo dusted himself off & looked up to see that they were inside the glacier next to them was a tall cliff & trench, & he also Jack standing there. They both pulled out their blasters & aimed them at each other. "Give up Shane!" ordered Jack

"No way." growled Leo, he fired Smasher as Jack fired a Hyper Rammstone, and the 2 slugs crashed into each other & took each other up.

Leo fired off Basher but Jack kicked the slug & Basher flew upward & smashed into the ceiling if the glacier. "Why do you always have to attack me?" demanded Leo as him & Jack began to wrestle.

"I don't have to answered that." growled Jack as he flipped Leo over.

"But what's your reason, I never did anything too you!" scowled Leo as he picked himself up & punch Jack.

"You may not have done anything, but your family sure did." growled Jack as they continued to wrestle.

Leo pushed Jack backwards "What are you talking about?" asked Leo he backed off, grabbed his blaster, & fired Bomb.

Jack bent backwards & kicked Bomb into the air, Bomb exploded when he hit the ceiling of the glacier. Jack then tackled Leo & they continued to wrestle until a loud roar was heard. "What was that?" asked Leo, but the only answer he got was another loud roar followed by stomping of giant feet.

Save chirped "Leo you do realize that we're in the glacier, right?" asked Save

"Yeah," answered Leo as another roar was heard "so that means." He looked up to see an Ice Ogre standing on top of the tall cliff.

"Ice Ogre." said Jack, but more Ice Ogres appeared behind the first one.

"No, Ice Ogres." corrected Leo

Him & Jack each loaded a slug & fired them, & each of them hit an Ice Ogre.

The Ice Ogres roared as the 2 that were hit grew bigger. "Nice job Shane." growled Jack

"What are you blaming me for?" growled Leo "You fired a slug too."

An Ice Ogre growled & jumped down, landing near Leo & Jack, it then roared into their faces. Jack ran off towards a nearby tunnel, Leo saw him, & followed as Ice Ogres jumped down & gave chase. "Don't follow me!" demanded Jack to Leo who caught up to him.

Leo didn't bother to answer he just fired Slushy who created a giant ice wall behind them, but the Ice Ogres easily broke through it. "Good thinking, Shane." taunted Jack as they continued to run through the tunnel.

"Well I don't see you doing anything." snapped Leo trying to avoid the ice rocks the Ogres were throwing at them. "But maybe I'll try this." Leo loaded Star & fired her at the Ice Ogres.

Star velacimorphed & blinded the Ogres. The Ogres quickly recovered, they looked around, they realized that they lost Leo & Jack, they roared in anger as they set off to look for them. "I think we lost them." whispered Leo as Sorry, his Thugglet, got rid of her allusion & made them visible again.

"Yeah, but they'll be back." replied Jack as he walked off to another tunnel.

"And where are you going?" asked Leo

"I'm getting the heck out of here." answered Jack

Leo ran in front of him "Are you crazy? Neither of us are going to get out if here, unless we work together." said Leo

"I don't need a Shane to protect me." Jack growled as he bumped Leo & walked off.

"He's going to get himself killed." chirped Save

Leo smirked a bit & was actually about to walk off him Save gave him a sterner look. "What?" asked Leo

"Are you seriously going to leave him?" asked Save

"He left me, so I don't need to help him." replied Leo as he walked off to into another tunnel.

"So are you telling me that you're not a bit curious of why he hates Shanes?" asked Save

Leo stopped walking & turned around "Fine, but if I get eaten by flesh eating monsters I'm blaming you." Leo said pointing to Save & walking off to find Jack.

Meanwhile, the rest of the Shane Strikers continued to duel the Hyper slingers. "This is getting out if hand!" shouted Quiver as he avoided a Hyper slug.

"I know just keep dueling." said Christi as she fired off a Strang slug, which she got from the pirate ship, the Strang flew around & attacked several slingers.

"But that's very difficult to do when all our slugs get too tired too to duel." said Garo as he fired off CaveIn again.

"Then we have to finish this now." said Christi

"Let's think about this." suggested Quiver "We're running out of slugs, we're outnumbered, & our best slinger is trapped in an Ice Ogre lair. I'm sorry to say it but we can't do this by ourselves."

"I'm thinking you're right." said Christi as she turned on her intercom to call in the Shane Gang.

Back in the glacier Leo continued to sneak through the tunnels avoiding any Ice Ogres that came stomping by. "Where is he?" asked Leo as he looked around for Jack, but the only answer he got was a loud roar from the end of the tunnel. "That's actually a pretty good answer." said Leo to Save, he then ran down the tunnel until he found Jack fighting off a couple of Ice Ogres.

"Stay away you freaks!" demanded Jack as he fired a Hyper Tazerling that zapped an Ice Ogre but it only made it bigger.

The Ogre tried to smash Jack with his fists but Jack dove out of the way to have the Ogre smash the floor. Jack smirked but he was back handed by the other Ogre. Leo smirked but Save gave Leo a stern & ashamed look. "Fine, I'll help him." groaned Leo, he loaded Dumpster & fired him at the Ogres.

Dumpster released a cloud of stink making the Ogres run away from the terrible stench. "Oh man that's so foul!" complained Jack as he plugged his nose & as Scorch gagged for air.

"Maybe you smell so bad that you scared them off." jeered Leo as he stepped up to Jack.

"What are you doing here?" asked Jack

"I'm just trying to avoid these Ogres, unlike you." answered Leo

"I had this situation completely under controlled." scowled Jack, Scorch growled as well.

"Right so let me guess, you were probably going to make your big escape after those monsters had chewed you up. Oh yeah that really is under controlled." said a sarcastic Leo

Jack was about to respond when several roars were heard from several tunnels. "We better get going." said Leo walking towards a tunnel.

"There is no we." growled Jack, but more roars & stomping was heard coming towards them.

"Unless you can find another tunnel that doesn't have an Ice Ogre waiting at the end of it? We're going this way." replied Leo pointing to the safest tunnel.

Jack growled "Fine, but we are not working together." He then walked into the tunnel with Leo next to him.

The tunnel they were in was rather long & winding, Leo & Jack walked through it for a while without much trouble. "So can you tell me now why you hate Shanes so much? And why are you working for Hyper" requested a curious Leo

"Someone like you wouldn't understand." answered Jack

"Then make me understand." responded Leo

Jack didn't answer at first & then he sighed "Hyper is all the family I have left."

"How is Hyper your family?" asked a confused Leo

Jack sighed again "You see my father was a scientist who studied & experimented on slug enhancement, he worked along with a man of great ambition."

"Let me guess Hector Brink." guessed Leo

"Yeah, well about 5 years ago my father & Brink made a break through." added Jack

"I'm assuming you mean Hyper slugs." said Leo

"Yes, but the first slugs were very unpredictable & unstable. But one night while I was around my father & Brink they began to argue about something, but I didn't pay any attention, until my father led me out of the room. I was there for a while & all I heard was yelling & arguing from the other side, but I couldn't hear anything. Until I heard the shooting of blasters, I freaked & entered the room, as soon as I entered I looked around to see a man fleeing through the window, I looked around sine more before I found my father laying behind his desk dead. After that Brink took me in & trained me to duel so I could get my revenge." explained Jack

Leo avoided Jack's eyes "I'm sorry, I had no idea that that's what you had to go through." apologized Leo

"Of course you wouldn't know, because that man that fled & murdered my father was your father, Eli Shane!" clarified Jack

Leo got angry & tackled Jack & pinned him to the wall "Liar!" declared Leo "My father would never murder anyone & then just run away!"

"Really, he killed Thaddeus Blakk didn't he?" asked Jack trying to get free of the supposedly very strong Leo "And wouldn't it make sense that he keeps things a secret from you, I mean he kept you as a secret from all of Slugterra for 15 years."

Leo let go of Jack "I refuse to believe you." growled Leo, he then continued down the tunnel.

"I told you that you wouldn't understand." added Jack as he followed along.

"If that really is the truth than why do you hate me specifically?" asked a frustrated Leo, making a fist.

"My revenge is towards your father not you, you are actually ok, but I suspect that heart hasn't turn to stone yet, like the other Shanes have." answered Jack, Leo quickly turned around & punched Jack right in the face.

Jack stumbled backwards, Leo punched him a couple more times, & then he picked up Jack with his left arm, & threw him at the wall. "Maybe your heart is stone." said Jack as he picked himself up.

Leo tackled Jack & repeatedly punched him until he was about to pass out. Leo was probably going to finish him when Save chirped "Stop this Leo! You're only proving him right!"

Leo held up his fist for one more hit, but he took a breath, & he put his fist down. He stepped away from Jack, he took a breath, & said "Lets move before I decide to leave you as a snack for the Ogres." He then walked off with a bruised Jack following behind him.

They walked on until there was a slight hum or singing in the air, they stopped to listen. "Do you hear that?" asked Jack

Leo just grumped towards the humming, it eventually got louder & easier to hear that it was sine sort if soft & peaceful singing. They walked on but they eventually slowed their pace "Is it me or an I getting a bit sleepy?" yawned Leo

"No it's not just you." yawned Jack

They kept walking until Leo's eyes shut & he collapsed on the ground asleep. "Leo what are you doing?!" asked Save "Wake up, wake up!" He ordered but with no luck.

"Losers." chirped Scorch, but then Jack collapsed & fell asleep.

Save & Scorch tried to waken their slingers, until Shipwreck hopped out from the backpack. "I've got this." he said, he bite down on Leo's shoulder making him spring up awake.

"Ouch, that really hurt!" wined Leo when he got to his feet.

"It work didn't it?" asked Shipwreck

"It sure did." answered Leo, he then noticed Jack asleep on the ground.

Shipwreck hopped down to him & bite his shoulder, more like he tried to chew it, & Jack spring up awake & hurt. "What's big idea? Having your slugs bite me?" demanded Jack

"Sorry, Sleeping Beauty but nap time is over, let's go." ordered Leo

They walked on, they finally made it to a large den with giant icicles everywhere, & on the biggest icicle was a giant group of Slyren slugs. "Slyrens." pointed out Jack

"Of course, that's why we fell asleep, because of the Slyrens." clarified Leo

Leo yawned again & walked towards the Slyrens. "What are you doing?" demanded Jack

"I'm getting a new slug & away to defeat those Ice Ogres." answered Leo

He approached the Slyrens & he petted one on the head. "Hey there little buddy. How would you like to join my team?" asked Leo he yawned a bit as he asked

The Slyren pondered on the idea & then it slide down the icicle into Leo's hand. "Sure, I was getting tired of hanging out with smelly Ices Ogres anyway." answered the Slyren, & judging by its voice Leo could tell it was a girl.

"Nice to have you, & how about I call you Echo?" asked Leo, the Slyren smiled in agreement, & then she joined Save & Shipwreck on Leo's shoulder.

"So are we getting out of here or what?" demanded Jack

Leo was about to answer when several roars were heard. Leo & Jack turned around to see several Ice Ogres charging at them. "Move it!" shouted Leo as he pushed Jack out of the way of an Ogre's fist.

"Don't ever do that again." ordered Jack, they then jumped out of the way of another charging Ogre.

Jack fired off a Hyper Frostcrawler that managed to freeze the feet of an Ice Ogre. "I should have done that on the very beginning." smirked Jack, but the Ogre grew bigger & broke through the ice.

"Yeah make these thing even madder then they already are." sassed Leo, he then avoided being smashed by an Ogre's foot.

"Then fire off the Slyren!" demanded Jack, as he avoided being grabbed by an Ogre.

Leo avoided another Ogre "I can't use Echo until all these Ogres are together." explained Leo

Jack picked up a slug tube with a Hyper Strang, he was about to fire it when he was knocked to the side by an Ogre. Jack was hit to the edge of the tall cliff that is the sane one as when they had entered the glacier & was part of the den, Jack fell off the edge. Leo quickly reacted by sliding on the ice floor, getting past the Ogres to the cliff, he loaded Weaver as he did this, & he fired Weaver down at the falling Jack. Weaver grabbed onto Jack & swung him to the blocked entrance to the glacier.

Leo sighed with relief, but Save chirped for him to roll to his left. Leo did so & avoided an Ogre's fist that smashed into the ice where he had been. The Ogre was about to smash him again when a velacimorphed Hyper Strang flew by. The Strang flew around & circled the Ogres trapping them in one spot. "What are you waiting for? Fire the Slyren!" demanded Jack

Leo loaded Echo & fired her at the Ogres. Echo velacimorphed & she used her Sleepytime to put all the Ogres to sleep. "Finally, that takes care of that." commented Leo, as picked up Echo.

Leo fired Soap & grabbed his tentacles to allow him to be floated down to Jack. "So what do we do about that?" asked Jack pointing to the blacked entrance.

Leo didn't bother to answer instead he loaded Driller & fired him at the wall. Driller removed the blockage & Leo & Jack we're free to leave. "So glad that's over." chimed Leo as he walked through the exit.

When he stepped out of the glacier Leo noticed tons of damage everywhere & he spotted his friends with Eli. "Guys!" called Leo running off to them, leaving Jack behind.

"Leo!" they all called

"You're ok." cheered Quiver

"Of course I am." replied Leo when he arrived to them.

"I knew you would make it, & with a new slug." commented Eli, noticing Echo.

"Hey Leo, you & Jack were in that glacier right?" asked Christi

"Yeah." answered Leo

"Well where is he? Did he get eaten?" she asked

"No he's...hey where did he go?" asked Leo looking around for Jack.

"It doesn't matter, let's just head home." said Eli, & they left for their mechas.

Leo seated himself on Walker & then he remembered what Jack had told him earlier about what Eli may or may not have done. "What's the matter, Leo?" asked Eli, who noticed Leo's expression.

Leo hesitated to answer "Nothing's wrong, I'm just really tired." answered Leo, he started Walker & they rode off for home, as Jack watched them leave from afar.

"Maybe your heart hasn't turned to stone." said Jack, he turned to leave. "Or at least not yet."


	29. Chapter 29

Hey guy, sorry I haven't updated for a little while, I kept getting stuck while writing this chapter and then I accidently deleted it and had to rewrite it.

* * *

Searching For The Truth

"Where am I?" asked Leo, he found himself in a hallway with a signal door standing in front of him.

Leo looked around to see everything towering over him, as if he was very short. He could hear arguing from the otherwise of the door & then he heard a blaster going off. Leo was completely confused, the door swung open, Leo entered the room that appeared to be some kind of office, & there laying on the floor dead was a man that looks allot like Jack Burns. "What's going on?" asked a scared Leo

He looked around to see Eli Shane standing near a window with his back turned to Leo. "Dad, what happened? What's going on?" demanded Leo

Eli didn't answer, he just loaded a ghoul DarkInfurnace into his blaster, he turned around, Leo could not see his face due to the darkness of the room, and Eli aimed the ghoul right at Leo. "Dad what are doing?!" asked Leo "Dad?!"

Eli didn't answered instead he fired the ghoul as Leo screamed in terror.

Leo sprung from his bed & he breathed heavily. "Are you ok?" asked a concerned Save, who Leo woke up when he jumped from his bed.

"I'm fine it was only a nightmare." answered Leo, as he laid back down.

"Again?" asked Save "That's the third time this week & it's only Tuesday."

"I know, it's just that I can't focus with that signal question in my head."

"Leo I told you, don't let what Jack told you to get to you. He was lying."

"I don't think so, I mean I am part Shadow Clan & that also makes me a living lie detector too. And when Jack told me about his father's murder I got the sense that he really believes that my father murdered his."

"Maybe he's a great liar."

"I doubt it." yawned Leo "Anyway I'm going back to sleep."

"Alright." yawned Save, he then fell right back onto a pillow & fell asleep.

Leo however stayed up the rest of the night with the signal question that haunts him: Did Eli Shane ever commit murder?

Leo eventually fell asleep, but only to have Echo start beeping like an alarm clock. "Time to get up! Time to get up!" she beeped

Leo struggled to get up, he changed into his cloths, & exited his room. "Look at who's finally up." chimed Sydney, who was seated on the couch & had noticed the drowsy Leo exit his room.

"Morning, Leo." greeted Trixie

"Morning." yawned Leo

Sydney noticed Leo's drowsiness "How can you be sleepy?" she asked "You were the last person to get up."

"Why do you care?" snapped Leo, clearly he was grumpy for not being able to sleep.

"Hey, what did I do wrong?" she asked "All I did was ask you a question."

"And I'm asking you a question." snapped Leo

"Alright, that's enough you two!" interrupted Trixie, Leo then sat down on the couch opposite of Sydney.

Eli entered the room "Good morning everyone." he greeted

"Sorry dad, but good mornings don't exist for one of us." answered Sydney, she gestured to Leo.

"And why is that?" asked Eli to Leo

"Um...I...I've just been having some weird dreams." answered Leo

"They're probably about his dream girl, Christi." teased Sydney

Leo stood up "No they are not!" he snapped "And besides shouldn't you be off with your boyfriend right now?"

Sydney stood up "Luke is not my boyfriend!" she snapped

Leo smirked "I never said it was him, but now I know it is." he teased

Sydney was furious & was probably going to slug Leo, till Eli interrupted saying "Ok you two, lets not start the day on a bad note. And besides nothing's wrong with having a crush on someone." he teased

"I don't have a crush!" declared Leo & Sydney at the exact same time.

Eli, Trixie, & every slug in the room laughed as Sydney sat back down & Leo scowled. "But seriously, what's the matter?" asked Eli to Leo.

Leo wondered of he should just ask Eli right then about what Jack had told him. "Like I said, just weird dreams. Nothing to worry about." assured Leo, trying to give the impression that everything was ok.

"Alright, just take it easy, ok?" requested Eli

"Ok." replied Leo

After that Leo ate a quick breakfast, before heading out to meet his friends at the SlugIt. "It's about time you got here!" announced Quiver, when he saw Leo walking towards them.

"Sorry, I just had a rough night." answered Leo

"Again, that's the third time this week." pointed out Garo

"I know, I know, I've just been having strange dreams, ok." replied Leo

"Leo, what's the matter?" asked Christi

"Nothing." lied Leo

"Leo, you've been having these 'dreams' since you were stuck in that glacier with Jack. Did something happen in there?" asked Christi

Leo hesitated to answer

"No...just...um...you see... Jack told me something when we were trapped, he told me something about my father that I can't believe that it's true."

"And there's your problem!" declared Christi

"What is?" asked a confused Leo

"That you believed what Jack had to say," explained Christi "you can't trust him, he's a Hyper slinger."

"I know that, but I just don't get the feeling that he was lying."

"Well if you want to know the truth then you should go ask your father."

"What, why?!"

"Well you said that the problem was about him, so you should go talk to him."

"But what if he lies or keeps the truth as a secret. I mean he kept me as a secret from all of Slugterra for years. Who's to say that he won't or has kept secrets from me?"

"Leo, I don't know why your father does what he does, but he is your father so he shouldn't lie to you."

Leo was still not convinced & Christi noticed this. "Fine, since you need some motivation. I will tell your parents about our lovely cruise with the pirates." she threatened, because Leo had not told his parents that they were captured by pirates.

"You wouldn't dare."

"Oh yes I would. But I won't as long as you go right now to talk to your father."

Leo decided to go, but after Christi also threatened to slug him if he didn't leave right then. "I can't believe she blackmailed me like that." commented Leo, as he rode on Walker

"She wasn't blackmailing you," chirped Save "she was motivating you."

"But why would she do that?"

"It's because she cares about you, & I guess that's why she's your dream girl." Save teased, Leo scowled.

"You know sometimes I wonder, why do I even talk to you?" asked an annoyed Leo

"It's because you can literally talk to me." sassed Save, he looked around & noticed that they were not on the usual route home. "Where are we going?" asked Save

"We're going to the only other person that was there when died." answered Leo

"You don't mean?!" asked Save

"Yes, I mean Hector Brink." answered Leo

"But why him, he'll probably lie to you!"

"That's what I'm counting on, because if he lies then the opposite is the truth."

"But what if he does tell the truth?"

"Well I'm not really sure on how to give you a direct answer, but there's a Shadow Clan saying: The truth is easy to find, accepting the truth is the hard part." answered Leo as they reached the edge of the Hyper cavern.

"So you'll just have to figure it out then." said Save

"I guess so." answered Leo, he parked Walker, stepped off him, he pulled out his Shadow Walker, & he teleported himself just outside the Hyper base wall. Leo noticed a counsel & speaker there. He pressed the only button that was on the counsel. "Who's there?" asked someone through the speaker.

"This is Leonardo Shane, I would like to talk to Hector Brink." Leo answered

"Please give me a minute." requested the person & in about 30 seconds the speaker told Leo that he is free to enter & he will revive no trouble as long as he behaves.

The metal gate swung open to reveal Hyper slingers ready just in case Leo tries to do something. 2 slingers & Brian Dwin approached Leo "Why do you want to speak to Brink?" demanded Brian

"That's none of your business." snapped Leo

"Listen here kid, if you as so much as pet a slug, you'll be toast." Brian growled

"Am I going to talk to Brink or not?" asked Leo

Brian & the other 2 slingers led Leo through the building & to Brink's office. "What is it you would like to talk about?" asked Brink, when they got to his office.

"I just have one question." answered Leo "But I'd rather ask it in private." he added gesturing to Brian & the other slingers.

Brink gestured for them to leave. "Alright ask your question." demanded Brink

Leo took a breath "I heard that 5 years ago some kind of incident happened where was murdered, I would like to know why or rather who was the murderer." requested Leo

Brink pondered in the question for a bit before answering "Why do you ask me, when your father was that murderer!" announced Brink, but something in Leo's head clicked & shouted that: he's lying!

"What makes you so sure of that?" demanded Leo

"Because I was there, when your murderous father broke in & killed my best friend!" answered Leo, but again Leo got the sense that he was lying. "I managed to escape & I took Jack in, but I will never forgive your father, & I plan on getting my revenge very soon." he smirked

Leo immediately knew that he was in trouble, so he ran for the door.

Brink quickly pulled out his blaster & fired a Hyper Grenuke. Leo pulled out his Shadow Walker & he teleported away as the Grenuke exploded. When the dust cleared & Hyper slingers had flooded the room, Brink roared in anger realizing that Leo had somehow escaped.

"Phew, that was too close for comfort." sighed Leo, when he had teleported back to Walker.

"Told you that this would be a waste." said Save

"Actually it wasn't a waste but it wasn't very helpful either. I mean I sensed that he was lying but his story was similar to Jack but Jack wasn't lying."

"Well all you have is one more person to talk to."

"Yeah I just hope Jack isn't right."

Leo made it home in about an hour, he parked Walker in front of the Hideout. "This is it." sighed Leo as he stepped off Walker.

Leo stood there & didn't bother to take a signal step, Save noticed his hesitation "It's going to be fine." Save comforted "We'll figure out the truth & then you'll finally have your answer."

Leo nodded in agreement, he took a breath, & walked into the Hideout. He looked around & saw nobody there. "Is anybody home?!" called Leo

Eli entered the room "Oh Leo, perfect timing." said Eli, but he seemed a bit concerned about something.

"What is it dad?" asked a nervous Leo

"Listen I just got a call from Christi," answered Eli & Leo got even more nervous thinking Christi really eat him out about the pirate incident. "she told me that something's troubling you." continued Eli "Care to tell me what that is?" Leo didn't answer, he just stood there trying not to look at Eli's face. "Leo, this problem won't be solved if you keep quite." added Eli

"Dad, when I was trapped in that glacier, Jack told me something about something that you may have done, & I'm not sure if I believe him or not." answered Leo

"Well what did Jack tell you?" asked Eli

Leo explained word by word what Jack had told him. "And as he was telling me this, I never got the sense that he was lying." said Leo, he then explained how he paid a visit to Brink & that when he told the story that he was lying.

"So what is it you need to know from me?" asked Eli after listening to all that Leo had to say.

"Dad, did...did you kill Jack's father?" asked Leo, he shut his eyes too afraid of Eli luring to him or hearing the truth that he doesn't want to hear.

"Leo, I understand why you would question me like this." said Eli "My father did somethings that I still question to this day. But I think the best answer is to tell you what happened. You see 5 years ago I got a tip that some guys were creating a way to power up slugs. So I investigated to make sure no slug was being harmed, & to see if these powered up slugs would be a threat to anyone. But one day of my investigation I overheard arguing, yelling, & then I heard a blaster go off. I immediately sprung into action & I entered the office. Only to see a man standing there, the man fled, & I chased after him, even though he escaped." explained Eli, & Leo did not get the sense that he was lying. "But judging from your story I can assume that the man I chased was Brink, Jack must have seen me leave to chase after Brink, & I guess he thought that I killed his father."

Leo absorbed it all in "But then did Brink kill Jack's father?" asked Leo

"I don't know, but it is possible that someone else may have been there, & Brink is keeping it to himself." answered Eli

"Dad I'm so sorry I ever doubted you."

"It's alright, I understand why you would question me."

"But what about Jack would he believe the truth?"

"Jack will have to find & accept the truth on his own."

"I hope so."

"Oh Leo, there's one more thing I need to tell you."

"What is it dad?"

"You're grounded for the next week."

"What?! Why?!"

"You're grounded for 2 reasons, one when Christi called & I told her that you haven't spoke to me, she told me about your pirate incident."

"I don't believe it, she was telling the truth."

"You should have known that." chirped Save "You are a lie detector so you should have been able to tell if she was bluffing."

Eli then continued "And 2 for going to speak to Brink! I mean really he could have hurt you or worse!"

"Why did I tell you that part?" asked Leo as he faced palmed himself, but at least now he has his answers and can sleep easy.


	30. Chapter 30

**Sorry it took me so long to update I had allot of stuff going on this week. **

* * *

Jinxed

It's been a week since Leo talked to Eli & was grounded, but he hasn't had a single nightmare since.

"So what do you want to do today?" asked Leo to Christi.

They were both at the SlugIt, Garo was off on a mecha-beast class, & Quiver was gone for a family event.

"Not sure." answered Christi "Should we go see a movie?" a light smile appeared on her face.

"Maybe, but there aren't any new movies out right now." answered Leo as Christi's smile disappeared.

"Um, there's a new smoothie place not far from here. How about we go there?" she suggested, with a smile reappearing.

Leo shook his head "Sorry, but I just had a smoothie." he answered.

Christi was getting a little annoyed now "How about we go see a Slug Ball match?" she suggested.

Leo shook his head, no. Christi suggested a few more things, but Leo denied them all. She crossed her arms & sat back clearly upset & annoyed.

"Lets go have a duel!" suggested Leo, he didn't bother to let Christi answer, before he ran off for the arena.

Christi shook her head in disbelief & walked off for the arena.

"Alright the first person to disarm the other wins." said Leo as he made his way to the opposite end of the arena.

"Ok." agreed Christi groggily.

Leo counted down from 3 & when he got to 1 Christi was the first person to fire off a slug. Her Hop Rock hit Leo & sending him falling backwards. Christi giggled as Leo hopped back up. "Oh, so you think that's funny?" he jeered

"I think it's funny." chimed Save, Leo hissed for him to be quiet & then he fired Jokes at Christi.

Christi easily evaded Jokes & fired her Gazzer. The Gazzer used its Stompchomp on Leo, making him dance stupidly. "Yeah I think it's really funny." laughed Christi, she then fired a Tazerling that zapped Leo, making him stop dancing but also singeing his hair, Christi laughed her head off as Leo patted down his hair. "I'm so glad we decided to duel." laughed Christi

"Yeah, I'm starting to wish that we went to that smoothie place instead." groaned Leo, his legs were then frozen by Christi's Frostcrawler.

"That's what happens when you disagree with me." Christi jeered

"Oh snap!" sassed Save to Leo.

Leo growled at him & then fired Basher at the ice, breaking it, he then fired Trip. Trip managed to tangle around Christi's legs making her _trip _& fall. "And that's what happens when you disagree with me!" sassed Leo, as Christi freed herself from Trip.

Christi got back on her feet "Don't steal my lines." she ordered as she loaded a Phosphoro into her blaster. "Let's teach this Shane some manners." she told Jinx, who was perched on her shoulder, Jinx nodded in agreement.

Christi took aim at Leo & fired her Phosphoro. The slug managed to slip past PitFall, that Leo fired, & the Phosphoro managed to blind Leo. Christi smirked as she loaded Jinx & fired her at the blinded slinger. Jinx velacimorphed & used her Urrcurse attack. Leo recovered his vision, he loaded Return, aimed at Christi, & then pulled the trigger only to have Return bouncing off some kind of force & hitting Leo repeatedly & continuously. "Stop! Stop!" ordered Leo, covering his head & trying to avoid Return, but with no luck, until Return finally returned to protoform.

"What was that for?!" demanded Leo, when he picked up Return.

He then noticed Christi laughing her head off with Jinx smirking & admiring her handy work. "Hey, not cool!" yelled Leo to Christi.

"I'm just dueling." replied Christi, she then loaded Jinx back into her blaster & then fired her at Leo.

Leo desperately tried to avoid the Hexlet but he was hit and he stumbled backwards. Christi then fired a Rammstone, Leo tried to run out of the way, but he somehow slipped & fell. He then looked up to have the Rammstone smash into him & send him flung backwards. "Ouch, that really hurt." complained Leo as he picked himself up.

He looked around & realized that his blaster had been flung to the side of the arena. He ran for it but he was hit again by Jinx. He shook it off & he dove for his blaster. As soon as he grabbed it he was zapped by it. Leo dropped his blaster & then he was hit by Jinx again. He stumbled, but he slipped & fell backwards. Leo tried to pick himself up, but Christi had ran over to him, & now had her blaster aimed at his head. "Um, is it too late to go get smoothies?" asked a defeated Leo.

Christi chuckled before helping Leo to his feet. "You know, I'm kind of glad we decided to duel." chimed Christi

"Whatever," muttered Leo "can we go get those smoothies now?"

"Sure," answered Christi "why not?"

They then left for their mechas & then made their way for the smoothies. They each ordered their own smoothie before walking back to their mechas. "This is a great smoothie." chimed Christi

"Really?" asked Leo "I haven't tried mine yet." he said, he was about to take a sip when he slipped & he fell forward as the smoothie was thrown into the air, Leo slammed face first into the ground, & then the smoothie landed on top of his head covering him in the cold drink. "Oh man," complained Leo as he picked himself up & tried to wipe away the smoothie. "what rotten luck."

"You're telling me." said Save who also got covered in smoothie.

Christi giggled, Leo noticed her "It's not that funny!" he snapped

"Sorry," she apologized "but you should really be more careful."

"Yeah I will." agreed Leo, he went back to get another smoothie & to get napkins to clean himself up.

After he was cleaned up & got his new smoothie they went back to the SlugIt. "Aww that was a good smoothie." commented Leo

"That sure was." agreed Christi

"I'm going to go practice slinging." said Leo as he stood up & walked over to the target range.

Leo loaded Slushy into his blaster. "Let's get some practice in, ok." said Leo to Slushy who nodded in agreement.

Leo took aim at the target & fired Slushy, but some kind of force repealed Slushy back at Leo freezing the lower half of his body. "Gosh, & I thought the smoothie was cold!" complained Leo "Why did you do that?!" demanded Leo to Slushy, when he hoped back over to him.

Leo then fired Basher to break the ice. "I didn't mean to," apologized Slushy "there's an Urrcurse force in affect right now."

"An Urrcurse?" asked Leo "Then that means..." he cut himself off & marched over to Christi

"What do you have against me?!" Leo demanded pointing to Christi.

"What are you talking about?" asked a confused Christi, who had not noticed Leo getting frozen.

"You used Jinx's Urrcurse attack on me when I wasn't looking!" Leo explained

"No I didn't!" snapped Christi "But I did use it during our duel."

"Then how do you explain the Urrcurse that made Slushy attack me?" demanded Leo

"I don't know." answered Christi

"Fine," said Leo he then took a couple steps away before he stepped on an ice tube & he fell to the ground. "Why do I keep falling?!" Leo demanded

"You should really be more careful." suggested Christi

"Yeah I'll try." replied Leo.

He walked off to have a sip of water from the water fountain. He pressed the button only to have after gush out soaking him. "I think the fountain is broken." wined Leo, after he shut off the water.

He left for the restroom to dry off but when he touched the door of the restroom, its hinges broke, & the door slammed into the ground. Leo was completely shocked until Stalker approached him. "What did you do now?" he demanded

"I swear I didn't do it!" denied Leo

"I just saw you break it." Stalker growled

"But all I did was open it!" defended Leo, but Stalker just handed him a hammer.

"Get to fixing." he ordered before walking off.

"This is so not fair." growled Leo, picking up the door & he began hammering away.

"Just do this & get it over with." said Save

Leo continued to hammer away until he hammered his own hand. "Oh, oh, oh! That really hurt!" cried Leo, trying to sooth his hand.

As he rubbed his hand the door got loose & fell, slamming right into his face making him fall backwards in pain. "Oh, my face." groaned Leo "Why is this happening to me?" he pushed away the door & picked himself up. "Man, what is going on today?"

Leo picked the door back up & fixed it up without getting himself hurt. He sat down near Christi "I must be having an off day." he groaned

"Why do you say that?" asked Christi

"Well I fell several times, got covered in smoothie, I was frozen like one too, I was drenched by the water fountain, accidentally broke a door, hammered my own hand, & had the same door smash into my face!" explained Leo

"That sounds like you have an extreme case of bad luck."

"I guess so. And you used the HyJinx attack on me when we dueled!"

"Are you seriously going to blame me, for having an off day?!"

"No I'm not blaming you for an off day. I'm blaming you for jinxing me!"

"Jinxing you? What do you mean by that?"

"Think about it, you used Jinx on me several times during our duel."

"Yeah, so what?"

"Then maybe because you used her so many times, you may have accidentally jinxed me."

"Maybe, but even if I did it, it should have worn out by now."

"But it hasn't."

"So what are you going to do?"

"Um...that's a good question."

Christi stood up "How about we go ask your mom? She does know allot about slugs."

"That's true. Yeah let's go ask her." They then left for the Hideout.

Leo made it there rather slowly because Walker's engine kept screwing up & malfunctioning. "We finally made it." sighed Leo when he entered the Hideout.

"You mean that you finally made it." corrected Christi who got tired of waiting for Leo to fix his engine so she just ditched him & made it there first, beating him by 20 minutes.

"Hey Leo," greeted Trixie who was seated next to Christi "Christi told me about your off day."

"I'm not having an off day." corrected Leo "I've just been jinxed." he added looking to Christi

"I told you, it's not my fault!" she snapped

"Actually," interrupted Trixie "it kind of is your fault." she told Christi

"Ha, I told you so!" cheered Leo

"But how?" asked a surprised Christi

"Well," said Trixie "when you use a Hexlet slug on a signal target several times you create a Jinx Affect."

"A what?" asked Leo

"A Jinx Affect." Trixie repeated "How it works is that the victim, in this case you, will have bad luck & have other affects like an Urrcurse."

"Well I kind of already knew that." said Leo

"But did you know that the bad luck will get worse," added Trixie "and more dangerous as long as you are jinxed."

"Are you saying that it'll kill me?!" asked Leo who was freaking out at the thought of it.

"What?! No." answered Trixie "You're just going to have to be very careful."

"Ok, but does this Jinx Affect wear off?" asked Christi

"Um, I'm really not sure." Trixie answered

"Then what should I do?" asked Leo "Is there something I have to do?"

"I'm not really sure." replied Trixie

"Then let's figure it out!" declared Christi excitedly

"How?" asked Leo & Trixie

"Well let's try different things & see what can get rid of this jinx." Christi answered, Leo was about ask something else but Christi grabbed his arm & led him outside. She let go of Leo, ran forward, & stood opposite of him. "Ok let's try hitting you with Jinx." she said holding up Jinx.

"What why?!" demanded Leo

"Maybe we can cancel out the Jinx Affect by jinxing you again." Christi explained

"Are you sure this is going to work?" Leo asked nervously

"Nope." she answered just before firing Jinx.

Jinx velacimorphed & used her HyJinx attack on Leo again. Leo stumbled & then stood there for a couple of seconds. "Did it work?" he asked

"I don't know." answered Save from on top of a boulder to avoid being hit. "Do something so we can see."

Leo nodded & kicked a rock into some nearby bushes. The rock flew into the bushes & a thud was heard & then growling. Leo & Christi were completely confused until an angry Slug Hound leaped out of the bushes & charged at Leo. Leo freaked & ran with the Hound snapping at his legs. Christi & Save watched Leo run around & shouting for help, until Trixie exited the Hideout after hearing Leo shouting. She noticed the angry Slug Hound & she fired her Frieghtgeist that managed to make the Hound flee in fear. "Well that didn't work." said Christi

"You're...telling...me." panted Leo trying to catch his breath.

"Alright on to the next test." chirped Save

After that Trixie went back into the Hideout & Christi tried several other theories. She tried using a Tormato's twister but all that did was spin Leo around & throw him into a tree. She then tried electrocuting Leo with a Tazerling but that just made Leo collapse. They tried other things like making Leo drink Lariat sludge, but he gagged & puked. They tried allot bunch of other things that either hurt or embarrassed Leo as Christi & Save laughed & watched. "Nothing is working!" shouted Leo after being torched by a Flaringo.

"Well that's why we're trying different theories." said Christi "Now let's see if hitting you with an Armashelt will work."

"No way!" Leo yelled "Lets try something else!"

"Ok, but what?" asked Christi

Trixe then walked out of the house & had overheard Leo & Christi. "Why didn't you two go ask the Shadow Clan if they know what to do?" she asked

"Well I thought about that," answered Christi "but I thought that this would be more enjoyable." she giggled for a few seconds.

"Wait," said Leo "you mean you've been humiliating me just to entertain yourself!"

"Yup," she answered "so maybe next time you won't reject my ideas anymore or annoy me."

Leo just scowled her before heading over to the garage & hopped on Walker. Christi followed him, she seated herself on Skip, & they left for the Dark Periphery.

Christi got there in 10 minutes but she finally noticed that Leo was nowhere to be seen. She waited for 15 minutes before Leo came running toward her. "What took you so long?" she asked "And where's your mecha?"

"Walker's...engine...shut down...so..I had to...run...the rest...of the way here." Leo panted

"Alright but you're here now so let's go." said Christi as she dismounted Skip.

They entered the Dark Periphery until several Shadow Clam members had appeared in their path. "What brings you here, Leonardo?" one of them asked

"I have a bit of a problem." Leo answered & explained his situation with the Jinx Affect.

"Okay but why do you come to us?" they asked

"I was hoping that you would know how to get rid of it." Leo answered

"But you have the solution perched on your shoulder." one of them said pointing to Save.

"Wait," said Leo looking at Save "you can cure my jinx!?" he asked in disbelief.

"I sure can." Save answered

"Then why didn't say anything?!" Leo demanded

"Well I didn't know that you were jinxed at first," Save chirped "and I was going to say something after we found out, but then Christi tried out her theories, & it was just too much fun to watch."

Leo growled, he grabbed Save, explained everything to Christi, & then handed Save to Christi. "Slug me." Leo groaned

Christi smirked as well as Save. She aimed at Leo & fired Save. Save velacimorphed & blasted Leo with a spiral green energy ray sending him flying backwards against a mushroom tree. "Did it work?" Leo groaned, picking himself up & holding his head.

"Well do something." suggested Save after hopping onto Leo's shoulder.

Leo grabbed a rock & chucked it at nearby bushes but nothing happened. "Yes, finally I'm no longer jinxed!" Leo cheered

"Bummer," groaned Christi "I was having so much fun."

"Actually, I think I'm still jinxed." added Leo but Christi & Save gave him a confused look. "I'm jinxed because I have such rotten friends." he growled.

Christi & Save didn't bother to argue instead they just laughed as Leo marched away to find Walker.


	31. Chapter 31

**Sorry I haven't updated for a while, my summers can sometimes be busier than my school year. But I managed to update so please leave a review or a suggestion about anything you want me to add in and about what you'd like.**

* * *

Nightfall

After Leo cured the Jinx Affect, him & Christi left for the SlugIt until Garo & Quiver eventually joined them around 8pm, & Christi was able to explain what happened to Leo earlier that day. "I wish I was there!" laughed Garo, after being told what happened.

Christi laughed saying "I just wish that I had a camera." Garo & Quiver laughed along with her.

"I still think I'm jinxed." Leo muttered as his friends continued to laugh.

Just then Leo's communicator rang. Leo picked it up, turned it on, & answered "Hello."

"Leo," answered Eli "where are you right now?" he demanded

"I'm at the SlugIt." Leo answered "Why do you ask?"

"I need you & your friends to meet me at the Hideout." Eli answered "I need you guys for an important mission."

Leo grinned with excitement "We'll be right there."

Leo then told his friends what Eli just told him, they left for their mechas, & then they rode off for the Hideout.

"What's this important mission, you were talking about?" Leo asked Eli when he entered the Hideout, with his friends.

"I've been getting reports of a Hyper depot out in an unnamed cavern." answered Eli

"Let me guess," said Leo "you want us to scout it out."

"No," Eli answered "we're going to take it down." Leo & his friends grinned. "Alright," Eli continued "this depot is heavily fortified from slingers & traps hiding in the jungle to a giant wall with cannons. So we can't just run in there & sling away at everything we see."

"So it's a stealth mission?" asked Quiver

"Yes," Eli answered "we'll have to park our mechas far away from the depot & hike our way towards it without alerting a single slinger. Once we get there we make our way inside, gather the slugs that they've trapped, & then we'll borrow some of their own mechas to get them all out."

"Sounds simple enough." said Leo "So when do we leave?"

"We leave at nightfall." answered Eli.

They then spent the next 2 hours getting ready for their stealth mission. Eli handed out silencer mods to the Shane Strikers, but Leo insisted that he didn't need one. They replaced their regular cloths & blasters with dark stealth suits & black blasters to help them stay out of sight.

"Is everyone set?" asked Leo, after he buckled his bandolier.

Everyone nodded, yes, & then they all left for their mechas & to the depot with Eli leading the way there. They got there in great time, & they parked their mechas just outside the cavern. "Alright everyone take one." said Eli holding out thin black metal goggles to everyone.

Everyone but Leo grabbed one. "What are these for?" asked Christi as she held hers up.

"These are night vision goggles." answered Eli he then noticed that Leo did not take one. "Here you go." said Eli holding out the goggles to Leo.

"No need for that, dad." said Leo

"But how are you supposed to see?" Eli demanded

Leo didn't answer, he smirked, pulled off his metal eye patch, & opened his left glowing green eye. "I have a night vision goggle built in." he chuckled

Eli chuckled as well but everyone else seemed confused. "What do you mean by that?" asked Garo

"You see my eye allows me to see in the dark." answered Leo & his eye shined lightly to emphasize his point.

"Does everyone have a silencer mod?" asked Eli trying to get back into their mission.

"Everyone but Leo." answered Quiver, as he inserted the mod.

"Don't worry I won't need one either." said Leo, waving his left arm.

"Won't your eye give you away?" asked Christi, as she stared in awe of Leo's eye.

Leo chuckled "It shouldn't & if they do see me they'll just run off thinking I'm a Shadow Clan member."

"Which you are." Save added

"Enough talk." interrupted Eli as he placed the goggles on. "Let's move." he said before walking into the jungle, with the Shane Strikers following close behind him.

They hiked through the jungle with no problems. They did pass up a couple of slingers but they were either asleep or falling asleep, so it was easy to get past them. After hiking for a while they decided to have a quick water break. "Alright everyone," said Eli after he drank some water "this is when the mission actually becomes a challenge. Meaning that there will be even more slingers & traps."

"Finally," chimed Leo "I was starting to get bored."

Everyone finished their water & then they continued their hike. They passed up a few small patrols of slingers, but they easily slipped past them without being noticed. They found trip wires, nets, & other traps as they went along luckily no one triggered them.

They were having an easy time till they came upon an outpost. The outpost is rather small, it has one tower, a small fence around it, 2 blockades, a balcony, & there seemed to be about 8 slingers there. 1 slinger on the tower, 2 on the balcony, 2 inside the building but they are standing by an open window, & the last 3 slingers were standing around the barricades.

"We'll have to be careful." whispered Christi as she observed the outpost.

"I got this." Leo whispered before he climbed up the nearest tree.

He grabbed Echo with his left hand, he aimed at the outpost, & threw her over it. Echo velacimorphed just as she got above the outpost. She then used her Sleepytime attack making all the slingers fall asleep. Echo flew back into Leo's hand. "Great job." praised Leo & Echo gave a little bow.

Leo hopped back down from the tree. "See I told you I had this." he smirked

"Whatever," said Quiver "any of us could have used a Slyren."

"But yet none of you did." Leo sassed

"Don't get over confident, Leo." said Eli

"I'm not over confident," Leo corrected "I'm just that good."

"I'm serious Leo." Eli scowled "If just one person gets over confident then it can put this whole mission in jeopardy." Leo didn't bother replying, he didn't feel like arguing with his dad. "Let's get down there." Eli added before heading off toward the outpost.

They tied up the sleeping slingers & placed them inside a supply closet. "I think that's all of them." said Garo as he patted his hands.

"I don't think so." corrected Quiver who was keeping an eye out toward the jungle.

Leo walked over to Quiver who pointed at the jungle, Leo peered at where he was pointing to see a patrol of 9 slingers with 2 slug hounds walking towards them. They were still quite a bit away so they haven't noticed Eli & the Shane Strikers. "We have to get out of here." said a nervous Quiver

"No," Eli answered "if they see that no one's here then they'll get every slinger they have to look for us."

"Then what do we do?" asked Christi

They all pondered on what to do till Leo got an idea. "Wait," he said "as long as they see slingers here then they won't suspect anything, right?"

Eli answered "Yes."

"Perfect." Leo grinned as he grabbed Sorry.

He threw Sorry towards the front of the outpost, she velacimorphed & created illusions of the 8 slingers, that they trapped, & she had them placed where they we're originally. Leo & everyone else moved to different spots of the building so they could watch the approaching slingers & stay out of sight.

The patrol approached the outpost. They wanted to take a break in the building but the Sorry had the illusions try to talk them to leave. Eventually the slingers started arguing with the illusions to let them in, they nearly touched the illusions as well. "If this continues we're going to have a real problem." Leo whispered through his intercom.

"Looks like we'll have to take them out." Eli replied

Just then the 2 slug hounds began to bark at the building & the illusions. "Someone's in the outpost." one of the slingers scowled

"No!" answered one of the illusions "No one is here but us." But the hounds barked even louder.

"Then let's us in!" the slingers ordered, but the only answer they got was Stuntz hitting 5 of them on the head as the illusions disappeared.

"Drop them!" Leo yelled as he threw Dumpster.

Dumpster velacimorphed & smacked into the hounds making them run away from the terrible stench. Garo fired his Frostcrawler that froze a couple of slingers, Quiver tied up several slingers with Logie, & Christi zapped the remaining slingers with her Tazerling. "That was fun." chimed Leo as he picked up Sorry & Dumpster.

"We should have done that at the very beginning." Save added

"Yeah," agreed Leo "but we have to be careful or we may attract some attention."

"Alright everyone time to split up." said Eli, after they tied up the slingers & shoved them into the supply closet with the others.

"Why would we do that?" asked Leo

"Because from this point on I don't know exactly where the depot is located." Eli answered "So if we split up the better the chance that someone will find it & it will be easier to avoid slingers in a smaller group."

"So who's going with who?" asked Christi, she quickly turned her eyes toward Leo who was watching the jungle.

Eli noticed what she did "Ok Quiver & Garo you're a group." he said "Christi & Leo you're the second group." Christi grinned but Leo didn't notice. "And I'll go by myself." Eli finished

"Well not completely by yourself." Burpy corrected

"You know what I mean." Eli replied before they left the outpost.

Garo & Quiver decided to hike up a nearby cliff so they could get a better view from there, Eli decided to follow the only path there, as Leo & Christi decided to follow a small stream through the jungle.

"It's so pretty here." Christi chimed as she awed at how the luminous crystals glimmered far above them, the plants around them swayed with the wind, the stream flowed smoothly, & a giant flock of Phosphoros glowed lightly as they passed through the trees & bushes giving off a romantic feel.

"What is?" Leo asked, completely oblivious of how romantic the moment was.

"Nothing." Christi answered in disappointment.

Leo just shrugged & continued to follow the stream. "I don't believe how oblivious he is." Christi muttered to Jinx

"Boys." was all Jinx could reply.

Save turned around "What was that?" he asked

"None of your business." Jinxed rudely answered

Save's face filled with annoyance & he turned back around not wanting to talk anymore.

They hiked through the jungle until they came upon another outpost. Only it was bigger than the last one & had allot more slingers & slug hounds. "This is going to be tough." Christi said as she observed the outpost.

"Yeah," Leo agreed "but that'll make it more fun." he added before sneaking closer toward the outpost.

Christi was in disbelief "Oh so now he's listening to me." she muttered, before she decided to followed him.

Leo hide himself in a small ditch that was perfectly hidden behind ferns & a tree. "We have to take out the guys on the tower first." Leo told Christi, when she had caught up to him.

"Why don't you just use Echo, again?" Christi asked "Instead of taking them out one at a time?"

"Because this outpost is bigger & there may be more slingers inside the building." Leo answered

He grabbed PitFall, aimed at the slingers on the tower, but just before he could throw him. Christi fired her Rammstone that quietly sucker punched the 2 slingers knocking them out with nobody noticing. "Am I a show off or what?" Christi chimed

Leo smirked before he grabbed X & threw him at the outpost. X velacimorphed & created a small EMP to shut off the Hyper outpost, but it was small enough that it won't be noticed from afar. The EMP shut off all the lights, the slingers' blasters, & their communications. "Or what." Leo answered with a grin.

He then threw PitFall who created a sand pit, trapping several slingers. Leo then threw Trip who tied himself around a couple of slingers. Christi fired her Arachnet, which was able to web 5 slingers. Christi then fired a Frostcrawler that froze several others. "Not bad." Leo commented, but then he noticed a pack of slug hounds running at them.

He quickly reacted by throwing Basher. Basher smashed right past the hounds sending them flying. Leo then fired Prize who encased several slingers in crystals. Christi then noticed 5 slingers exiting the building, she fired her Hop Rock right at them. The slug exploded & sent the slingers flying & crashing into the building. "Is that all of them?" Christi asked

"I think so." Leo answered before walking through the ferns & heading towards the outpost. "Let's go before someone notices the mess." he added.

When they got there they did the same thing as they did at the earlier outpost, by tying up the slingers & hiding them. Once they were done they found a path leading into the jungle so they decided to follow it. They passed up several patrols without being spotted. One patrol however did spot Christi & Leo but they easily took then down by using their Frostcrawlers. After an hour of hiking & sneaking past traps & slingers Leo stopped in his tracks. "Do you see that?" he asked Christi

"See what?" she asked

"Take off your goggles."

Christi did what she was told & looked to where Leo was pointing to see bright lights over the tree line. "Do you think that the depot is over there?" Leo asked

"Maybe." Christi shrugged

Leo led them up a nearby cliff, it was small but just enough to get an overview of the Hyper depot. "That has to be it." said Leo as he examined the facility.

The depot is one giant metal building, it's surrounded by a large metal wall, there are spot lights on top of the watch towers, cannons placed on top of the wall, & the entire place is crawling with Hyper slingers.

"We should call your dad." Christi suggested

"I think you're right." agreed Leo, he turned on his intercom & told Eli, Quiver, & Garo about what they are seeing & where they are.

"We'll be there as soon as we can." said Eli "Just stay out of sight."

"Don't worry I will." Leo assured, before he hung up.

"Looks like we should get comfortable." said Christi, who had her intercom turned on so she could hear the conversation, she sat down & leaned against a nearby tree.

"Are you kidding?" Leo chuckled

"Wait," said Christi "you're not going down there are you?" she demanded

"Tha, of course I am." Leo grinned

"But your dad said that he'll get here."

"Yeah, but he never said that we should stay put."

"But he did say to stay out of sight."

"And I will stay out of sight. So really I am obeying what he said."

Christi was about to say something else, but Leo had already begun climbing down the cliff. "He's so rash." Christi growled

Leo made it to the ground, he then snuck his way towards the wall, he made it near the edge & he hide in the forest line. "So how are we getting in?" Christi asked when she had caught up to him.

"I thought you were staying put?" Leo sassed

"I changed my mind." Christi answered "So how are we getting in?" she repeated

Leo pondered on what to do the wall is too big to cut through, it's probably to deep in the ground to dig under, but yet it's really tall. "Follow me." said Leo leading Christi toward the edge of the wall & avoiding the spot lights. "Grab on." said Leo pointing to his back.

"Wait, what?" asked a confused Christi

"Grab on to me & I'll climb us over the wall." Leo answered

Christi hesitated before she wrapped her arms around Leo. As soon as she had a good grip around him, she blushed & smiled slightly. Leo hopped onto the wall & began climbing. He slowly made his way up, only stopping when a slinger was near the edge of the wall. Leo got to the top, looked around, then he slide down the wall, & landed behind a large pile of crates & machines. "We're in." said Leo, looking around to make sure that they weren't spotted.

But Christi did not let go of him, her eyes were closed, & her face was full of bliss. "Hey, you can let go now." said an oblivious Leo.

Christi opened her eyes & blushed out of embarrassment "Ops, sorry." she said as she let go of him.

After seeing that it was clear they sprinted toward the main building. Leo threw Venom at the wall, she velacimorphed, sprayed acid at the wall, & created a hole big enough for Leo & Christi to squeeze through. Once they were inside they found themselves in a small room. Leo noticed a door, he opened it, & peered his head out to see a large turning hallway with security cameras. "How can we move around in here without being spotted?" Christi asked when she noticed the cameras.

"Remember her." Leo answered holding out Virus, his Virtum slug.

Leo took careful aim & threw Virus at the nearest camera. She velacimorphed, turned into violet electricity, & entered into the camera. She hacked the camera to freeze its image so no one could see Leo & Christi leave the room. Once they we're out Virus traveled through the wiring to the next camera & froze it too, then the next one, then the next, & so on as Leo & Christi snuck around.

Leo & Christi peered around a corner to see a group of slingers walking towards their direction. Leo quickly threw Sorry who disguised them as Hyper slingers. After the group past them they walked around & checked every room, but they didn't find anything important. Until they found a metal door guarded by a pair of giant slingers. "Something is back there." Leo whispered to Christi, they were both still disguised.

"I think so." Christi agreed

They walked up to the guards. "No one is allowed in here." One of the guards said as he stepped in their way.

"And why not?" asked Leo

"You should know why." said the other "This is the slug storage."

Leo & Christi grinned "That's all we needed to hear." said Christi before Leo sucker punched the guard in the face.

The guard hit his head against the door & passed out. The other guard was about to grab his blaster, but Christi sweep kicked him. Once they were down they tied them up, hide them in a nearby room, & their disguises disappeared. When they got back to the door Virus had unlocked it for them before she became protoform & returned to Leo. Leo thanked her for the great job before Christi & him walked through the door.

The room they were in was pitch black. Christi felt the wall until she found a light switch. She turned on the lights to allow them to see a giant room full of cages, crates, & barreled all stacked on top of each other & all of which are full of terrified slugs from Floppers to Strangs. "Wow." was all Leo could say as he peered into the cages. "How many do you think are in here?" he asked

"Don't know." Christ answered "But it's too many slugs to carry."

"But the plan was to sneak then out of here." said Leo "We would have to make allot of trips, but they'd probably notice that some slugs are gone after the first trip."

Christi pondered on what to do "Then let's not make any trips." she suggested

"What do you mean?" Leo asked

"Since there's no way to get the slugs out without being noticed, then let's be noticed."

"I still don't understand." said Leo

"Let's take this depot out of commission."

"You mean by slinging away? But we're supposed to stay out of sight."

"Come on Leo, I thought you of all people would enjoy something like this."

"I do, but I just didn't expect an idea like that coming from you."

"What are you saying?" Christi demanded, putting her hands on her hips.

"Nothing." Leo defended "But since you thought up the idea, what should we do?"

"Um, let's take out their communications & lights, once they're in the dark, we'll sling away till everyone else arrived to finish them off."

Leo smirked in agreement, he fired Virus at the nearest light, she entered the wiring & traveled around the building until she found the communications system & hacked it, she then traveled to the generator where she caused it to malfunction. Once it was shut off all the spot lights, lamps, & anything else that was light shut off leaving all the Hyper slingers to wonder around in the dark.

Meanwhile, Eli arrived at where Leo & Christi were on the cliff. "Where did those two get to?" Eli asked when he saw nobody there.

"Maybe they're making out." Burpy giggled, making kissing sounds.

"I'm serious, Burpy." Eli hissed "Where are they?" But the only answer he got was all the lights of the depot shutting off. "Of course." Eli groaned

Back inside the depot. "Virus did it." Leo announced once the lights shut off.

Christi put the night vision goggles back on, she loaded a Hop Rock as Leo pulled out his blaster & loaded Heat. "Let's move." Christi ordered as she exited the room, blaster ready. "Why aren't you going to throw slugs?" she asked noticing that Leo had his blaster out.

"I can't let them know I'm part Shadow Clan," Leo answered "& plus we're going to be noticed anyway so I might as well use a blaster."

"Good point." said Christi before they turned the corner to see a group of slingers trying not to bump into each other in the dark.

Leo smirked before he fired Heat at them. Heat exploded & sent them all flying towards the walls. "Nice shot." Christi commented before they continued through the building.

They turned another corner to see a group of slingers with flashlights & running towards them. Leo blinded then with Star & then Christi defeated them with her Hop Rock. They continued throughout the building, slugging every slinger they found, & they made their way to the roof.

Leo peered through the hatch to the sealing to see a pair of slingers looking out toward the jungle. Leo snuck behind them & shoved them off the roof, he quickly threw Weaver, who wrapped them into a cocoon & had them hanging there. Leo looked down to the courtyard to see slingers searching around for intruders. "Show time." Leo grinned.

Christi smiled in agreement before firing off her Phosphoro the slug soared over the courtyard & blinded all the slingers. Leo took the opportunity to fire Return. Return flew around knocking away blasters & hitting slingers. Christi tied up a group of them with her Arachnet as Leo defeated another group of them by using Basher. "We got them now!" Save cheered, but all the lights turned back on & they were all pointing at Leo & Christi.

They covered their eyes, from the bright lights, & Leo hastily put his eye patch back on. After he got it back on he was hit by a Hyper Hop Rock, sending him flying backwards. "They're on the roof!" the slingers yelled, firing Hyper slugs at Leo & Christi.

Christi fired her Frostcrawler as Leo fired Magma at the oncoming Hyper slugs. They managed to knock down most of them but a pair of Hyper Rammstones managed to slip by & they nearly clobbered the pair of Shane Strikers. "That was a close one." Leo sighed

Christi agreed but then she was hit by a Hyper Armashelt from behind, sending her over the edge of the roof screaming.

"Christi!" Leo screamed as he ran to the edge & jumped off the roof.

Leo struggled to get as close to Christi as possible as they fell. They reached for each other's' arms & grabbed onto each other as Leo fired Soap at the ground. Soap velacimorphed just before Christi & Leo bounced off him. Leo was the first one to get his feet on the ground, before catching a screaming Christi in his arms. "Are you ok?" Leo asked as he tried to catch his breath.

Christi blushed & answered "Yeah I'm ok."

Leo smiled & they stared into each other's eyes, well Christi had to look at Leo's one eye & eye patch. They stayed like that for about 10 seconds before they heard the charging of blasters. They snapped back to reality & Leo jumped them both behind a pair of large crates & out of the way of a Hyper Grenuke. "Give up Shane!" ordered the slingers as Leo put Christi down.

Leo & Christi looked around to see that they were surrounded. "I don't think we have a choice." Leo wined.

He was about to put his hands up when blue grenades rained down on the slingers & then exploded. "Leo!" Eli called with Rookie & Burpy on his shoulder & as he used a megamorphed Banger to create a giant hole in the wall. "What did you do?!" he demanded when he ran up to the surprised teens.

"I was completing the mission." Leo answered as he fired Gasher, who chewed a blaster into pieces.

"You were supposed to stay put!" Eli scowled as he launched a megamorph Beaker at a group of slingers.

"Actually, you said I had to stay out of sight."

"But you didn't even do that!"

"I know but it was actually Christi's idea!" Leo defended, as he fired Prize to create a crystal wall to protect them from a barrage of Hyper slugs.

Eli looked to Christi in surprise "I have no idea what he's talking about." Christi said as if she was in the dark about their conversation the whole time.

Eli gave a stern look to Leo. "But it wasn't my idea!" Leo defended

Eli pushed Leo down to have him avoid a Rammstone. "We'll finish this conversation later." said Eli, he then fired Joules at approaching slingers.

A group of slingers managed to line up & were about to fire on the intruders, till CaveIn burrowed through the ground, trapping them in a trench. "I can't believe you started without us!" Garo yelled as he fired a Sand Angler & Quiver launched a Frostcrawler.

"That's what happens when you're too slow." Leo teased as he fired SparkPlug.

A slinger managed to get behind Leo & was about to grab him when Logie pinned him to the crate, Leo turned around to see him stuck. "And that's what happens when you don't pay attention!" Quiver sassed & fired a Hop Rock.

The battle raged for about 30 minutes before they had defeated all of the Hyper goons. "Alright, Cavern Security will be here in an hour." Eli announced after they tied up the slingers. They were all in the slug storage room, freeing them all.

"What about these slugs?" Quiver asked

"Well they'll be returned to their homes," Eli answered " but I think you each should get one for doing such a great job."

"Just one?!" Leo wined "Why not 5 or 10?!"

"Don't push it Leo," Eli answered "especially after disobeying my orders."

"But it wasn't my idea, it was Christi's!" Leo announced & pointed at Christi who had just got a new Slyren.

"I still don't know what you're talking about." she answered.

Leo scowled & Christi grinned & winked at him angering him even more. Leo then examined the slugs, looking for one that stood out to him. Surprisingly, none of the rare slugs stood out to him, but one slug that he had never seen before did.

The slug has the body of a Hypnogrif but it's body is red & it transitions into a pale grey, it has tiny arms, red bat like wings that are black on the back side making it look like it has a cape on, it's eyes are red, it's 2 antennas are black, & it has 2 sharp & thin fangs poking out of its mouth.

"You look like a rare slug." Leo said, bending down to allow the strange slug to hop into his hand.

The slug stared at his hand in curiosity before flying up onto Leo's shoulder, landing right next to Save. "Glad to have you aboard." Leo greeted "How about I call you Fang?"

The slug agreed to its new name, it grinned evilly before everyone decided to head home.


	32. Chapter 32

**Alright guys for this chapter I will be switching from 3rd to 1st person & back, just to give you a heads up. **

**Also some of you may not understand the first part of this chapter, but don't freak out about it it's not that important. **

**& please leave a review &/or a suggestion at the end.**

* * *

Vamdire

After Eli & the Shane Strikers had taken down the Hyper depot, Leo immediately left for home & passed out on his bed falling into a deep sleep along with his slugs.

As they slept a small silhouette scurried through the room. The silhouette snuck up to a sleeping Heat, it stood over him, & it bit down on the oblivious & sleeping victim.

**Save's POV (1st person)**

It was early in the morning, I sat in my little office with the curtains shut & lights off, I had my favorite grey fedora on as well as my grey jacket, trying to listen to the radio, when Sorry walked in. She was wearing a red scarlet dress & a scarlet summer hat. She also had the expression that read that she was concerned but yet serious at the same time, like if you entered a pie eating contest to win a new mecha-beast but the pies look spoiled but you're going to eat the them anyway, that's the type of face she had. I understood right away that something was troubling her.

"What is it you need?" I demanded

"I have a job for you." she answered

"Can't you see, that I'm busy?" I scowled

She rolled her eyes "No I can't tell." she sassed "And I don't care.

But what I do care about is this job." she added with a serious tone.

I sighed & then I decided that I might as well hear her out. "Alright, what is it?" I demanded

"It's my brother sir," she started "something's wrong with him."

"Have you considered a therapist?" I asked her

"What? No!" she answered "He's not acting strange, something strange has happened to him."

"What do you mean?" I asked her

"Well you see sir," Sorry started "He can barely move, he can barely speak, & he's as weak as a Flopper."

"Well have you considered talking to a doctor?" I asked her

"I have sir..." she continued but she was cut off when Return fell on the desk.

"Return?!" I yelled in surprise

"Cut!" Bluster yelled from her little director's chair.

**(3rd person)**

For those of you that don't understand what's going on, here's what is happening. The slugs had set up a tiny movie scene. The office was just a grey box with a door cut into it, it doesn't have a top, but a lamp is hanging over it, probably where Return fell from. Bluster was the director, Virus was working the camera, X & Slips were holding up a microphone, & the other slugs just sat nearby to watch.

"Return, you messed up the scene!" Bluster scowled

Return picked himself up "I'm sorry, I didn't mean too."

"No apologizes." she growled before yelling for security.

Basher & Smasher appeared, they were both wearing sun glasses & security uniforms, they hopped into the box & dragged Return away.

Trip then hopped over in a Sherlock Homes outfit, all he had was the hat, cape, & pipe. "I'm ready!" he announced

"Trip!" Bluster complained "I told you, we're not doing the _Sherslug_ Homes scene."

Trip grumbled in disappointment. "It took me forever to find this thing." he complained

"Well you don't need it." Bluster added "So go take it off." she ordered

Trip's face filled with annoyance "I think I'm going to keep it on." he sassed defiantly as Save, Sorry, & Prize hopped over to Bluster.

"Remind me why we're doing this again?" Prize asked as Sorry poofed away her costume, & Save threw aside the fedora to let his 3 antennas to stretch out & he handed the jacket over to Soap.

"We've told you already," Save answered "in order to solve a mystery you need inspiration. So we did this scene to do that." He explained as he recalled how they found out earlier that day.

**(Flashback)**

The Shane Strikers were hanging out at the SlugIt when Leo challenged Garo to a duel. "Ready. Set. Go!" Christi announced to signal Garo & Leo to start.

Garo started the duel off by firing a Rammstone. Leo barley dodged it before firing Virus. Virus velacimorphed, she warped her long antennas around Garo's arm, & zapped him with violet colored electricity. "Is that all you got?" Garo asked, shaking himself off.

Leo smirked & fired Shipwreck, but Garo somehow managed to punch the slug away. Leo then fired Pierce followed by Trip, but Garo easily dodged them. "Let's give the noob a shot." Leo suggested, holding up a slug tube with Fang inside of it.

He loaded Fang & fired him at Garo to reveal his velacimorph. Fang's velacimorph looks similar to a velacimorphed Hypnogrif's body except its body is rather skinny & it is colored red that transitions to grey. It has red & black bat wings, skinny arms, red eyes, large black bat ears, 2 sharp & shining fangs, & a bat like nose.

Fang flew at Garo, but Garo launched his Armashelt that easily knocked Fang away. "Looks like your new slug can't hold his own." Garo jeered

Fang cowered down in shame when he returned to Leo. "Don't worry little guy." Leo comforted "You'll get him next time." he assured & Fang smiled at the remark.

Garo then fired an Arachnet followed by a Grenuke. Leo avoided the webbing but he was caught in the explosion. He picked himself off & dusted himself. "Time to use a pro." Leo said as he grabbed a slug tube with a dazed & a sick looking Heat inside.

Leo loaded Heat & fired him at Garo, but Heat just groaned as he flew through the air & hit his tiny head against Garo's chest, & he fell to the ground without even velacimorphing. "Looks like your pros aren't too well either." Garo teased before he fired his Frostcrawler & won the duel.

**(Present Time)**

"But I thought Leo said that Heat just has a cold & that he should rest." Prize said

"He did," Save replied "but this isn't a cold."

"Then what is it?" Sorry asked

"Well now that we have some inspiration, we can find out." Save answered before hopping off to Leo's room, where Heat uncomfortably slept on a pillow.

Save, Sorry, Prize, X, & a dressed up Trip approached Heat. "How are you holding up, bud?" X asked

Heat slowly opened his eyes & answered "I'm fine." He assured, he tried to smile & lift his head only to collapse back on the pillow & pass out.

"You're certainly not fine." Sorry said as Save & Trip neared Heat.

They examined him for about a minute before Trip noticed something. "What's this?" Trip asked pointing to Heat's neck or rather the side of his back.

Save looked where Trip was pointing to see 2 small holes in Heat's neck. "What are does?" Trip asked warily.

"I'm not sure." Save answered as he stared at the holes.

"Maybe he had an accident with a stapler." Prize teased as he nudged X.

"Oh come on!" X wined "I get my head stuck in a stapler one time & I never hear the end of it."

The other slugs laughed, Heat however coughed, & they immediately quieted down. "Heat, do you know what caused this?" Sorry asked

Heat just shook his head no & passed out again. "This isn't good." Save said, he placed his hand on Heat's head. "He feels really cold & he seems to be really low on slug energy."

"And he looks really pale." Trip added

"He sure does." X added

"Will his energy recover?" X asked

"Yes I think so." Save answered

"Could they be bite marks?" Sorry suggested trying to focus on the holes.

"Maybe, but what can make a bite this small, make him so weak, & can make him low on energy?" Save asked

They pondered on the thought till Trip spoke up saying "Maybe, it was that new guy, Fang." he suggested warily & he pulled his hat down slightly to cover his nervous face.

"Why would it be him?" Prize asked

"Well he does have fangs." Trip replied, moving the hat back up.

"That doesn't mean anything." Save said "And besides his fangs are way too thin & small to cause this. Plus he's the new guy so go easy on him."

"But we barely know anything about him." Prize added "We don't even know what his abilities are, other than being creepy."

"Yeah," Save agreed "but let's not jump to conclusions. This can be something else."

"At least we have one clue." Sorry said trying to keep positive.

"Yes we do," Save agreed "but let's go finds things that could have caused these holes."

The slugs agreed & went off to find anything capable of puncturing a slug. Sorry brought back a pair of pencils but they were too big to make the holes, Prize brought a toothpick but it was too thin, X got a fork but he realized that there are only 2 holes, Trip got a quill from Pierce but it were also too thin, & Save brought Fang. "Why did you bring him?" Prize demanded angrily & scared Fang.

"Fang has agreed to show his innocence." Save answered & gestured for Fang to show them his fangs.

Fang opened his mouth just over the holes to allow them all to compare. "Look they're the same width apart!" Prize pointed out.

"Yeah, but these fangs are way too thin to create holes that big." Save pointed out & Fang shut his mouth.

"Can I go now?" Fang asked warily

"Yes you may, sorry for wasting your time." Save said

"Oh, it's ok." Fang assured before flying into the air & then he turned around before leaving the room. "And let me know if I can be any help to you." he said before exiting.

"He seems nice." Sorry said after he left.

"He sure is." Save agreed

"I still think he's creepy." Prize said as he glared at the door to see if Fang would fly back in.

"You really don't trust him, do you?" Saved asked Prize

"Of course I don't." Prize replied

"And why not?" X asked

"I'm not quite sure" Prize answered "but when Heat failed to velacimorph earlier Fang smirked slightly, but I wasn't sure."

"Well it doesn't matter," Save said "he couldn't have done it so let's keep searching for possible reasons." Save suggested before they all left for different parts of the Hideout.

Prize decided to search the garage for possible reasons. "There has to be something in here." he said to himself when he got to the top of the work table.

He searched the table for a minute before the door to the garage slammed shut, causing Prize to jump, & then the lights shut off. Prize tried to look around "Ha ha very funny guys." Prize said, but he got no answer. "Um guys?" he asked warily as a silhouette scurried behind him. He jumped around "Who's there?" demanded a quivering Prize.

He heard wings flapping around him, he tried to pin point where it was coming from, but it kept changing, Prize noticed a nearby & empty paint can & thought it was a good place to hide, but before he could move he felt something sharp pierce into his neck making him scream.

"I heard it coming from in here." Echo said leading Save, Sorry, Trip, & X into the garage, which now had its lights turned back on.

"Are you sure you heard a little girl screaming?" Trip asked

"You do know that you're talking to a Syren right?" Echo questioned "I'm pretty sure I know a scream when I hear one."

"Ok." Trip answered, but his tone gave away that he doesn't believe her.

Trip hopped on top of the work table. "It's amazing she could even hear anything." Trip muttered "You would think that someone who's as loud as her, wouldn't have that great of hearing."

"I heard you!" Echo yelled from across the room, making Trip cower in the fact that he was wrong.

Trip continued his search till he heard a moan from inside a paint can. He hopped on top of it, looked in. "Everyone get over here!" Trip frantically called

"What is it?" Save asked when he & the other slugs had joined Trip.

"Look who I found." Trip answered & the slugs hopped on top of the can & peered inside to see a pale & unconscious Prize laying at the bottom of the can.

"Prize?!" Save said in shock, he hoped into the can, pulled him out, & set him near a towel.

"What happened to you?" asked Sorry

"Who did this to you?" asked Trip

"Where's the gold that you owe me?" Echo demanded

"Guys be quiet." Save ordered "Let's get him out of here & figure this out."

They all nodded in agreement, they then carried Prize out of the garage when Fang appeared. "Hey guys." he greeted "What happened to him?" he asked, pointing to Prize.

"The same thing that happened to Heat." X answered

"Really?" Fang asked with concern "Here let me help you out." He flew into the air, he picked up Prize, & flew him to Leo's room.

"Thanks for the help." Save thanked when they made it to the room.

Fang already had Prize next to Heat, he had them both under a blanket, & he had gotten slug food for them as well. All before everyone else got there. "You're very welcome." Fang smiled "I'm just glad I could help."

"Well you certainly are a big help." Sorry commented, making Fang smile brightly.

"I'm going to get them some water." Fang said before flying off into the air.

"So we have 2 victims & the same clue." X stated, pointing to two holes on Prize's neck.

"Yeah, this is a real head scratcher." Save agreed

Meanwhile, Soap was busy gorging himself in the fridge. He inhaled a bowel of spaghetti, chomped on a piece of cheese, drank a hole can of soda, & then he decided to finish off with some cake. As he chomped on the cake a dark silhouette appeared from atop of the cake & chomped on Soap.

Back in Leo's room Fang had just brought back small cups of water for Prize & Heat when Basher & Slushy hopped into the room carrying an unconscious & pale looking Soap. "What happened to him?" asked a concerned Save, when they placed Soap on the pillow next to Prize.

"We don't know." Slushy answered

"We just went to get some food & we found him in the fridge." Basher answered "We thought that he just ate too much cake but then we noticed these." he added pointing to holes on Soap's neck.

"Him too?!" Trip asked in shock.

"You said you found him in the fridge right?" Save asked

"Yup, he was right next to the cake." Slushy answered

Save, Sorry, Trip, & X immediately left for the fridge, leaving Fang to take care of the 3 victims.

"Look at what I found!" Trip called from atop of the cake, he also had a small magnifying glass in his hand.

"What did you find?" Save asked when he jumped up to him, but he didn't need an answer after seeing the outline of a slug's bottom & feet in the frosting of the cake.

"That mark is too slim to be Soap, Basher, or Slushy." Save said

"I think you're right." Trip agreed

"We now have a second clue!" Sorry cheered when she saw the mark.

"So all we have to do is figure out whose mark this is." X pointed out.

"Yeah, let's go gather all the slugs." Save suggested

They left the fridge & were half way through the living room when Leo rushed into the room & noticed them. "There you guys are." Leo said "We need to go right now." he said in a hurry.

"Why & where too?" Save asked

"Hyper has been raiding slingers on a nearby road." Leo answered, he picked up the slugs, placed them in slug tubes, & ran off to find the other slugs.

"But what about our dilemma?" Trip asked Save as Leo ran around the Hideout to gather his slugs.

"We'll take care of it when we get back." Save answered as Leo entered his room.

"Quit sleeping guys it's time to go." Leo said as he picked up the unconscious Heat, Prize, & Soap, he placed them in slug tubes & then allowed Fang to fly himself into one.

"Are we getting the rest of our team?" Save asked, referring to the rest if the Shane Strikers who were at their own homes.

"It's a small band of raiders so we'll be able to handle it." Leo answered as he ran to the garage & hopped on Walker.

Leo revved up Walker & sprinted out of the garage. Leo rode for about 7 minutes before he made it to the correct road. Leo knew it was the correct one because a group of Hyper slingers were searching through a trailer they just stole.

"You guys looking for something?" Leo teased as he aimed his blaster at them.

The slingers turned around to see Leo aiming Basher at them. "It's that Shane brat." one of them announced

"It sure is." agreed another

"Brink will pay us well when we bring him in." another added

"You'll have to duel me first." Leo snapped

The slingers smirked as they grabbed their blasters, but Leo fired Basher by the time they loaded them. Basher smashed into 2 of them sending them crashing into the trailer. The slingers immediately fired back but Leo easily dodged the first wave of slugs, but a Hyper Grenuke landed on the ground behind him & exploded sending Leo flung forward & crashing into the ground. Leo shook himself off & jumped up to avoid a Hyper Tazerling. Leo avoided a barrage of Hyper slugs as he took cover behind a giant boulder. "Maybe not bringing everyone else wasn't such a great idea." Leo muttered as the boulder continued to take hits from Hyper slugs.

Leo examined his bandolier to see which slug to use, he picked up Fang's & asked "Want to give it another go?"

Fang shyly answered "I don't think I'll be much help."

"Oh come on, Fang." Save said "You were a big help earlier you can be a big help now." he reassured

"I can't do it." he said sadly

"Yes you can." Sorry comforted

"Yeah, you have our full support." Trip added

Fang smiled slightly but it quickly disappeared. "I guess I could give it a try." he said nervously

Leo & the slugs smiled, Leo loaded Fang into his blaster, he jumped away from the boulder, & fired Fang. Fang velacimorphed & flew at the slingers. "That slug looks familiar." one of the slingers said as the others fired Hyper slugs at Fang.

Fang tried to avoid the Hyper slugs but he was easily overpowered & crashed near a tree. "That wasn't to impressive." chuckled one of the slingers, as Fang looked down in embarrassment.

Leo was about to load Save when he was clobbered by a Hyper Rammstone & then a Hyper Tormato. The attacks knocked away all of Leo's slugs, & sent him crashing into the tree that Fang had landed by earlier. "That could have gone better." Leo groaned as he sat up & Fang jumped onto his knee.

"Go get that kid, while I gather those slugs." a slinger ordered

The slinger marched off & towered over Save, Sorry, Trip, & X who had been blown away together. "You're all coming with me." the slinger growled as the other slingers gathered their things or approached Leo, blasters ready.

"I don't see a way out if this." a nervous Leo muttered to Fang.

Fang looked around he saw the slinger trying to snatch up Save & the others as well as the slingers approaching them. Fang sighed with disappointment before flying himself into Leo's blaster. "Are you sure?" Leo asked Fang as he picked up his blaster.

"I'm sure." Fang answered confidently

Leo smiled & aimed at the slingers. "Make me proud." Leo said before firing the confident Fang.

The confident Fang velacimorphed & flew at the barrage of Hyper slugs. Fang grabbed onto the a velacimorphed Hyper Hop Rock, his fangs extended, he bit down on the slug, the Hop Rock turned pale, & reverted back into protoform. Fang dropped it & as it fell he glowed red & his entire body became a bit bigger. Fang flew at a Hyper Tormato & bit down on it as well, but this time Fang's body became muscular.

The slinger chasing Save stopped to look at what was going on. "What's going on with Fang?" Sorry asked when they all noticed Fang dropping the pale Tormato & flew at the remaining attacking Hyper slugs, but instead of biting them Fang easily knocked them away with his now muscular arms & wings.

"Now I remember what it is." a slinger said

"What is?" asked another

"That slug is a Vamdire."

"A what?"

"A Vamdire, it drains slug energy from other slugs & uses it to become as strong as Rammstones." the slinger answered as Fang defeated the last of the attacking Hyper slugs.

"So that's what he is." Save muttered when he had overheard the slingers.

Fang hovered for a second before noticing the Hyper slingers, he smirked & growled before flying at them. "But there was something else that it could do." the slinger muttered trying to remember what it was.

But he didn't need an answer when Fang fired a red sonic ray at the slingers sending them flying backwards & passing out after they crashed into the ground or the trailer. "That was awesome!" Leo cheered when Fang's body became skinny again & then back into protoform before he landed on the ground. "I think you have some explaining to do." Save ordered when him & the other slugs including Heat, Prize, & Soap who instantly recovered when Fang blasted the slingers.

"Yeah I guess I do." Fang smiled nervously

"So you were the cause of Heat, Prize, & Soap losing energy." X growled

"Yeah I am." Fang answered sadly

"Why did you do it?" Save demanded

"I...I...I did it for attention." Fang answered

"Attention?" Trip questioned

"Yeah well it's hard to make friends when everyone automatically thinks you're creepy." Fang answered, making everyone feel bad. "That's why I drained Heat so everyone would noticed."

"And then you bit Prize because you over heard him saying that you were creepy." Trip said

"And then you took care of them to show how nice you really are." Sorry added & Fang nodded his head in agreement.

"But why did you bite Soap?" X asked

Fang smiled shyly "I was actually trying to take a bite out of the cake, but I didn't notice him until it was too late." he answered "I guess I owe you guys an apology & then I'll be going."

"Going?" Trip asked "Going where?"

"Well now that you know what I can do, none of you will want me around." Fang replied sadly and he began walking away.

"Who said we wouldn't want you around?" Save asked as he stepped in front of Fang. "No one wants you to leave." Fang looked around to see the other slugs nodding & smiling in agreement.

"You want me to stay?" Fang asked smiling & everyone nodded.

"Why not?" Prize asked "And besides I owe you an apology."

"An apology for what?" Fang asked

"I judged you before actually getting to know you." Prize answered "So I'm sorry."

"You don't have to apologize to me." Fang replied

"And besides you're really good in a fight." X added

"Thanks." Fang grinned

"Alright guys let's take these goons to Stalagmite 18." Leo called after he tied up the slingers & hauled them into the trailer.

The slugs took their places in slug tubes, backpack, or on Leo's shoulder. "Great job out there, Fang." Leo commented when Fang landed in his hand. "And glad to see the rest of you ok." Leo said to Heat, Prize, & Soap. "So what was wrong with you guys anyway?"

They just shrugged "Nothing, we just had colds." they answered

Fang smiled with relief before Leo hopped on Walker & took the slingers to prison.


	33. Chapter 33

**Warning: This chapter is the longest I've made yet so you may want to get comfortable. **

**I would also like to thank my fellow authors for lending their amazing OCs.**

* * *

Revenge

A strange & bearded man sat in a cell in the Stalagmite 18 prison thinking about the boy or rather the man that put him there. He continued to think about how he had lost that fateful duel right after escaping the Cavern of Time, until he looked up to see a teen with a Smugglet on his shoulder standing right in his cell. The man stood up "Who are you?" he demanded "How did you get in here?"

"My name is Eclipse." answered the teen

"Eclipse?" the man echoed

"Yes, I'm here to offer you a job." said Eclipse

"What kind of job?" the man demanded, but Eclipse just tossed the man a blaster & a strange metal mask.

"It's a job I know you won't deny." Eclipse answered before he pulled out a bandolier full of Hyper Neotox & Vindrill slugs all in yellow slug tubes.

"What did you do to those slugs?"

"These are Hyper slugs." Eclipse answered handing the slugs over to the man.

The man grinned wickedly as he examined the slugs, the blaster, & the mask. "Tell me about this job."

Eclipse smirked "I want you to seek revenge."

The man grinned evilly "Yes, I can finally get my revenge on Eli Shane by destroying him!" the man yelled. Eclipse began to laugh. "What's so funny?" the man demanded

Eclipse caught his breath. "The job is not to destroy Eli Shane." Eclipse answered

"What?!"

"Relax, you will be getting revenge only you'll be targeting...his family."

"Eli Shane, has a kid?!"

Eclipse laughed again. "You've been in here for far too long." he laughed. "He doesn't have a kid, he has 'kids'." Eclipse corrected & then he fired Shadow, his Smugglet, who transformed into Sydney. "This is his eldest daughter, Sydney Shane." Eclipse said

"Not very impressive." the man said as he looked at the illusion.

Shadow then changed into Tim "This is the youngest child, Tim Shane."

"Not much of threat."

Shadow then transformed into Leo. "And this is the most troublesome of the 3, Leonardo Shane." Eclipse growled

"What's with the eye patch & sleeve?" the man asked curiously.

Eclipse laughed. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you." he answered

"So you want me to attack these Shane brats?" the man asked as Shadow returned to protoform & returned to Eclipse.

"That's precisely what I want you to do." Eclipse replied "So will you take the job?"

The man snickered & then asked "So how are we getting out of here?"

"Oh, I have my own way of getting out." Eclipse answered just as a dark red & black portal appeared behind him, he stepped into the middle of it. "I'm sure you'll find your own way out. Good luck to you, Blite." Eclipse said just as he disappeared leaving Blite standing there grinning as he put his mask on & laughed menacingly.

* * *

Leo readied himself to draw his blaster as his opponent, who was wearing a full navy blue mask, readied to grab their own blaster. "You better just give up now." Leo jeered, his opponent didn't answer instead fired an Armashelt that nearly clobbered Leo.

"Not cool." Leo said & fired PitFall but he was encased in ice by a Frostcrawler.

"How ironic." Save muttered as he watched PitFall get frozen & fall to the ground.

Leo quickly loaded & fired SparkPlug, but his opponent managed to avoid the Tazerling & fire a Phosphoro that blinded Leo. As Leo wobbled around trying to regain his sight his opponent had loaded & fired a Lariat that pinned Leo to a tree. Leo struggled to get free as his opponent approached him, loaded a Flaringo, & aimed it at his head. "I suggest you surrender." his opponent said, & judging from the voice the opponent is a girl.

Leo just smirked, his opponent pulled the trigger only to have flames burst out from her blaster making her drop it & see Slips inside of it. Leo took the opportunity to break free of the goop, load Save & fire him at his opponent. She however saw this coming & pulled out a small blaster with an Aquabeek loaded into it. She took aim & fired the Aquabeek at the oncoming Pulter slug. Save shot out a green ray blast as the Aquabeek blasted out water. The 2 blasts clashed until an explosion of energy sent the slugs & slingers flung backwards. Leo crashed into a tree & as he fell to the ground his blaster & bandolier got snagged in branches leaving Leo defenseless. Leo looked up to see his slugs, but before he could stand up his opponent had picked up her real blaster, loaded a Hop Rock, & had it aimed at Leo. "Do you surrender?" asked his opponent

Leo just gave her a look of defeat as his answer. His opponent began to laugh "Well Leonardo Shane looks like you're going to have to do my chores." Sydney grinned as he pulled off the mask.

"No way." Leo wined "You cheated, you used a secondary blaster."

"But doesn't your arm also act as a secondary blaster?" Sydney asked sassily. "So really I was leveling the playing field."

"Yeah, whatever." Leo muttered "Why did you wear a mask?"

"Because the last time we dueled you used a Flatulorinkus on me." Sydney growled "Even though I won that duel, too." she added with a bit of humor.

Leo groaned "Well I'll be going now." he said as he tried to sneak away but Sydney soaked him with Marina sending him falling to the ground.

"You better not leave," Sydney ordered "you've got some chores to do."

Leo got back up to his feet & Sydney handed him a list of the chores she had for the day. The list read: repaint guest room, wash mecha-beasts, sweep, vacuum, mop, wash windows, refill slug food bowls, water plants, & buy groceries. "Hey some of these are Tim's chores." Leo said when he noticed the smaller jobs.

Sydney grinned "Yeah, I convinced mom to give Tim's chores to me & since you lost you got both our chores." Sydney explained

"So not cool." Leo muttered as Sydney walked towards the Hideout which was about 100 feet away from where they were dueling.

Sydney turned around just before entering. "Oh & remember when you mop it's _clockwise_, don't give too much slug food, don't drown the plants, & don't screw up the mechas or you'll have to clean them again." Sydney added before shutting the door & heading to her room.

"This is the last time I make bets against her." Leo muttered

"But we all know you're going to do it again anyway." Save sassed just as Leo entered the Hideout to start his chores.

Little to anyone's knowledge, Blite had been watching the duel from afar. "So those are the new Shanes?" he asked to himself "Not that impressive but still just enough for some payback." He hopped down from the tree branch he was on, put his mask on, & crept his way towards the front of the Hideout.

Inside the Hideout Leo was busy trying to paint the walls of the guest room, he had the door shut, all the furniture out, & somehow he had already got himself covered in paint. Sydney sat in her room fiddling on the computer, Tim was playing with a group of slugs, & Eli & Trixie were out taking caring care of Shane business.

Sydney then left her room to grab a soda when a velacimorphed Hyper Neotox broke through the window & created a noxious gas of poison throughout the room. Blite knocked the door down & looked though his mask to see Sydney & Tim paralyzed with surprised expressions on their face. He looked around & noticed that Leo wasn't there.

Meanwhile, Leo heard the breaking of glass & something slamming against the floor. "What was that?" Leo asked

"I'm not sure." Save replied

Leo picked up his blaster, he crept up to the door if the guest room, & peered out to have fumes of a green gas enter through. Leo realized what it was & quickly shit the door before he could be paralyzed. "This isn't good." Leo muttered, he tried to activate his communicator but he had left it in his room.

Leo opened the window & climbed out to the top of the Hideout. He loaded Flight & said "Go get my parents." he said before firing Flight, Flight velacimorphed, & flew off to get Eli &/or Trixie.

Once Flight was out of sight Leo climbed to the window that overlooks the main room of the Hideout. He peered through try to see anything he could barely see the paralyzed Tim & Sydney, however, he was also able to see Blite searching through the room probably trying to find him. "I don't know who he is, but he's not staying here." Leo muttered

"You got that right." Save chirped

"I have a question." Trip called from his slug tube.

"What is it?" Leo asked

"How are you going to get rid of that guy when your whole house is full of Neotox gas?" Trip questioned

"Don't worry about that." was all Leo could reply before he fired Smasher who 'smashed' through the window & then 'smashed' into Blite knocking him into a table.

Leo took a deep breath & jumped into the Hideout. As soon as he had jumped down & got to the floor Blite had thrown the table at him, but Leo fell to the ground at the last second to avoid it. Leo quickly fired Trip but Blite managed to knock him away with a chair. Blite then fired another Hyper Neotox but all it did was fill the room back up with the gas. The gas didn't affect Leo because he was holding his breath but the gas fogged up the entire room making Leo's visibility at zero. "So you are the newest Shanes?" Blite's voice asked "Not very impressive." Leo loaded Heat & readied for Blite to show himself. Leo heard a blaster fire off & before he knew it vines sprouted out of the ground, the vines tangled around him, & lifted him up into the air. "Like I said not very impressive." Blite repeated as he stepped into Leo's view.

Blite watched Leo desperately trying to free himself the vines were around his legs, arms, waist, & they were even covering the bandolier & backpack to prevent any slug from escaping. Blite then happened to notice Leo holding his breath & his face had begun to turn red. "So you don't want to breathe?" Blite asked with a bit of amusement. "Let me help you."

And immediately a vine wrapped around Leo's mouth & neck & it began to choke him. Leo began to freak out & desperately tried to free himself as Blite watched him with amusement, but Leo then suddenly stopped moving & passed out in the vines. Blite snapped his fingers & the Hyper Vinedrill dropped the unconscious Leo & as he hit the floor Leo took a small breath & was immediately paralyzed by the gas. "Not very impressive for a Shane." Blite repeated as he walked & towered over the paralyzed Leo.

"Goodbye, little Shane." Blite said as he lifted up his foot & was about to crush Leo when he was pulled back by a Syphoon attack.

The tornado raged on as it spun Blite around & cleared the room of the gas. The twister settled down to reveal an enraged Trixie at the door to the Hideout with Flight perched on her shoulder. "No one hurts my children!" she screamed before firing a megamorohed Rammstone at the surprised Blite.

The slug uppercutted Blite & sent him crashing into the second floor of the Hideout. Blite quickly picked himself up but was met with a lighting strike by a megamorphed Joules. "Who are you?!" Eli demanded after the zapping had calmed down.

Blite faced Eli & Trixie before pulling off his mask. "Blite?!" Eli asked in shock.

Blite just snickered before firing a Hyper Vindrill at the surprised parents. They easily avoided it & aimed their blasters at Blite only he wasn't there. Eli & Trixie looked around until they realized that he had gotten away. "He couldn't have gone far." Eli said & he was about to run out the door to chase him down.

"Eli wait!" Trixie called

"What is it?" Eli demanded. Trixie just placed her hand on top of the paralyzed Tim's head. "Oh." Eli said

Eli walked over to the paralyzed Leo & picked up Save. He loaded & fired Save at the ceiling. Save velacimorphed & sent a surge of green energy throughout the Hideout as soon as the energy touched the paralyzed Shanes they were immediately healed. "What happened?!" Sydney demanded when she was cured.

"All I remember is the window breaking." Tim said

Leo however was cured of paralyzes but he was still unconscious. "What happened to Leo?!" Sydney asked with concern.

"Why is this place such a mess?" Tim asked

"Who did this?" Sydney demanded

"Stop!" Eli ordered, he took a breath & continued "All you need to do right now is go to your rooms & pack up things you'll need."

"Dad," Leo called when he had woken up "what's going on? Where is he?" He demanded trying to pick himself up but he lost his balance & collapsed.

"Careful." Trixie said trying to get Leo back on his feet & then seated him on the couch. "What happened to you?" Trixie asked with concern & worry.

Leo groaned & rubbed his forehead before answering. "I was doing my chores when I heard glass breaking, then I noticed the Neotox gas." Leo began

"And you sent Flight to get us." Trixie added

Leo nodded yes. "And then I broke through the top window & dueled whoever that was but clearly I was no match for him." Leo continued with disappointment in his tone.

"Hey you tried your best." Save comforted

"Yeah but I got my butt kicked without him even breaking a sweat." said a depressed Leo "Who was he anyway?"

"That was Blite." Eli answered with a serious tone.

"Blite?" Leo echoed

"You know the guy that always uses Neotoxes." Sydney clarified

"But I thought he was locked away in Stalagmite 18." Leo said

"He was." Eli answered "I better go make sure everything is ok over there, but before that we need to get you 3 out of here."

"Why, where are we going?" asked a concerned Tim.

"Blite is targeting us so it's best to keep you all somewhere safe." Trixie replied

"But why would this Blite guy be targeting us?" Leo asked

"My father trapped him in the Cavern of Time & then I locked him up in prison so it's safe to say that he has a vendetta against us." Eli explained

"But if he's that big of a problem then lets go after him." Leo suggested as he stood up & looked confident again.

"No we're taking you 3 away from here," Eli ordered "& then we'll go get Blite." he finished & pointed to Trixie & himself.

"But we can help." Leo insisted

"No this guy is nothing like you've faced so far." Eli said "He's a dangerous crook that won't hesitate to hurt or kill you."

"But we can-" Leo said till he was cut off.

"I said NO!" Eli roared "Go pack up your things & then we're leaving."

Leo wanted to say something to get Eli to change his mind but for once he decided to listen to his father. He crossed his arms & walked off for his room followed by Sydney & Tim. Leo packed up a small duffle bag with clothes, a sleeping bag, a bag of slug food, his portable computer, some extra slug tubes, a binocular, & anything else that he may need or could fit into the bag. Once they were all packed up, they loaded their stuff on to the mechas, & then Eli led them to a safe location as Blite watched them from afar with a murderous grin on his face.

"So where are we heading to?" Leo asked Eli when he pulled up to him.

"Why did it have to be here?" Leo groaned when they arrived to Mole Mound.

"Because it's far from the Hideout, it has allot of places to hide, & Pronto is going to have his royal guards to look after you." Eli answered

"That is correct." Pronto confirmed as he approached the Shane family with his squire & a pair of royal guards. "Pronto the Great, will have you staying in the most fortified & protected place here in Mole Mound."

"Glad to hear it." Eli chimed

Pronto nodded, he handed his crown over to the squire, & gestured for his guards to lead the Shane kids to the fortified & protected place. But before Leo could set Walker at a walk Eli pulled in front of him. "We'll be fine." Leo said

"I know." said a concerned Eli "But I need you to promise me that you won't go looking for Blite."

"But we can-" Leo said till he was cut off.

"Leonardo!" Eli scowled "This one time can you please just listen to me & not go after Blite."

Leo was a bit surprised by what Eli had said but he should have saw it coming due to the fact that he was going to do it eventually. But Leo could tell that his father was extremely worried & frustrated no matter how calm he looks.

Leo was sure if he should agree, he looked to Save who nodded that he should agree, & Leo sighed "I promise that I will not go looking for Blite." Leo promised

Eli sighed "Ok & be careful."

"Same goes for you." Leo grinned before he had Walker sprint off to catch up to everyone else.

Eli watched his kids rid away with concern & worry. Trixie sensed this & pulled up to Eli "Don't worry they'll be perfectly fine." she comforted

"They will be when Blite's taken down." Eli added with a serious tone.

"So what's the plan?" Pronto asked curiously

"Lets go check up on Stalagmite 18 & then we'll track down Blite." Eli answered, they revved up their mechas & sprinted off.

A few minutes later the Shane kids had finally arrived inside their _fortified_ & _protected_ area. "This isn't fair I know my rights!" Tim yelled as he tried to open the cell he was in. "I deserve my one phone call! I'm innocent! I've been framed! I want my lawyer!" he continued to yell.

"You do know that the door is open right?" Sydney asked as she stood near the cell Tim had put himself in.

"Perfect, I can make my escape." Tim chimed wickedly before opening the door & creeping through the hall until Sydney tripped him & he fell to his face.

"Well that wasn't nice." Leo said as he sat upside down on the ceiling, he also had a book in his hand which was also upside down.

"What are you doing?" Sydney demanded

"I'm reading, tha." Leo replied

"I mean, why are you upside down?" Sydney asked

"It helps me to stay calm & think." Leo answered

"As if you could stay calm." Save sassed from Leo's shoulder.

"Remind me why we're in the prison?" Tim asked after he brushed himself off.

"Because it's the most f_ortified_' & _protected_' place in Mole Mound." Leo answered

"But why aren't we in Pronto's palace?" Tim asked "It's probably just as good."

Sydney cleared her throat. "Because last time we were there someone broke 5 statues, vandalized several portraits, & pushed Pronto off the Palace roof." Sydney answered & glanced at Leo.

"First off I was only 6 years old when that happened," defended an annoyed Leo "& secondly he should have put up a railing."

"Well why did you push him?" Save asked

"Because we were playing tag." Leo replied as he hopped down from the ceiling. "And besides Blite will never look for us inside a prison, so lets just stay put." Leo said. Sydney & Tim gave Leo expressions of confusion & surprise. "What?" Leo asked

"Who are you & what did you do to Leo?" Tim demanded

"My name is Eclipse & I sent Leo to the Deep Caverns." Leo answered jokingly

"Whatever," Sydney grunted "but did you seriously say that you're going to stay put?"

"Dad, made me promise before they left." Leo answered

"Oh." was all Tim & Sydney could say.

As the Shane kids continued to chat Blite had made it to the entrance of Mole Mound. He looked around to see all the molenoids going about their day & completely ignoring him. Blite grinned, placed his mask on, & fired a barrage of Hyper Neotoxes.

Back inside the prison Leo & Sydney had started a game of slug chess, which is the same as regular chess except the marble game pieces represent different slugs._ Pons: Floppers, Rook: Rammstones, Knights: Thresher, Bishops: Enigmos, Queen: Boon Doc, & King: Infurnus._

Sydney continued to defeat piece after piece of Leo's pieces until they heard screaming from outside the prison walls. "Do you hear that?" Save asked

"Yeah." Leo replied

The 2 of them peered out the nearest window to see a giant & growing cloud of poisonous gas. "A Neotox Fog!" Leo warned

They all quickly grabbed their bags & wrapped them around their shoulders. Once they had everything they ran to entrance of the prison. "Lets get to our mechas before-" said Leo till the doors swung open & the fog poured inside. "Never mind." was all Leo said before they ran back the way they came.

They ran down through the prison avoiding any fog that managed to get inside until they found themselves trapped at the end of a hall with the fog rushing at them. "Now what?" asked a scared Tim

Leo quickly loaded & fired Slushy who created an ice wall between them & the gas. "Phew." Leo sighed but then the ice cracked a bit.

Sydney then fired her Frostcrawler who strengthened the wall. "That should do it." Sydney chimed & put away her blaster.

"Where did this fog come from?" Tim asked when he had caught his breath.

"Blite probably found us." Leo answered gloomily "But we can't stay here."

"Agreed, but how?" Sydney asked just then the ice wall cracked again.

"Hurry fix the wall." Leo ordered as they picked up their Frostcrawlers, but the wall was busted open & the fog immediately surrounded them just after they took a deep breath & held it.

The Shanes struggled to hold their breath, but then someone grabbed Leo from behind & shoved something over his head. Leo gasped for air & realized that he now had a breathing helmet on. He looked around to see a molenoid with a Jellyish on his shoulder & wearing a similar helmet & placing helmets on Sydney & Tim. "Quiver?" Leo asked. Quiver turned around & grinned. "I'm so glad to see you." Leo greeted as Sydney & Tim caught their breaths. "What are you doing here?" Leo asked

Quiver simply answered "I live here."

"Oh right." Leo said awkwardly

"Yeah, I saw you guys getting dropped off, then this Neotox fog started up, & then I found you guys in here." Quiver clarified

"Well we really appreciate this." Sydney thanked "But lets go before Blite finds us too."

"Blite's here?!" Quiver asked with fear.

"We'll explain later but for now lets just get out of here." Leo said

"But what about all the moles?" Tim asked

"It's already too late for them & besides Blite's after us not them." Leo answered "Lets move."

They ran through the prison & to their mechas before ridding away from Mole Mound. "So where to?" Quiver asked after they were clear of the fog.

"Lets go to Bullseye Cavern & then we'll call my dad." Leo answered & they sped up their sprint.

"We finally made it." Tim cheered when they arrived to Bullseye Cavern.

They rode their mechas over to the Slugterra University canvas. Crowds of students flooded the area so Leo figured that it must have been a passing period. Leo stood up on Walker & looked around until he saw a very familiar slinger use a Negashade to defeat a buff teen & his cronies who appeared to be twins. Leo jogged Walker over to the slinger who had just picked up his Negashade & had a Speedstinger on his shoulder. "Nice duel, Jake." Leo commented

Jake turned around to see Leo, Sydney, Tim, & Quiver. "Hey guys. How's it been?" Jake greeted

"It could be better." Leo answered with an awkward grin.

"Why are they here?" Speedy, Jake's Speedstinger, demanded when he noticed Save & Leo.

"Why do you care?" Save snarled & Speedy growled back at him.

Leo ignored them & explained their situation. "Whoa you guys have had a rough day." Jake said after Leo & Sydney had explained their problem with Blite.

"You can say that again." Tim muttered

"Here I'll take you to my mom & you guys will be able to call your parents." Jake said before leading them all to the office building.

"Nice to see you all." Karina greeted when they had arrived to her office.

"Nice to see you too." Sydney greeted before she explained their situation as Leo used the computer to contact Eli.

In a few seconds Eli had appeared on the screen & standing behind him appeared to be Stalagmite 18. "Is everything ok?" Eli asked

"Not exactly." Leo answered & he explained where they are & how they had to escape the Neotox Fog.

"So you're with Karina right now?" Eli asked

"Yeah, we're here at SU." Leo confirmed

"Ok, good just stay there until this is taken care of." Eli said "And besides from what you told me, he probably doesn't know you're there."

"I hope so." Leo said "So how was Stalagmite 18?"

"It's actually in bad shape most of the guards have been paralyzed or trapped in vines." Eli answered "We're getting the last of the guards to safety & then we're going to rescue Mole Mound & then track down Blite."

"Ok & we'll stay here until this is all cleared out." Leo said before Eli waved goodbye & Leo shutoff the computer.

"Are any of you guys hungry?" Karina asked, but the only answer she got was Quiver's belly grumbling. "I'll take that as a yes." Karina chuckled & led them to the cafeteria hall.

"Thanks for the food." Leo & Quiver thanked Karina after they had stockpiled their treys with food.

"Did you guys get enough food?" Sydney said with sarcasm as Leo & Quiver sat down, but they didn't answer because they had begun to gorge themselves.

The 2 of them practically inhaled their food & as Leo was going to eat a bowl of spaghetti someone smashed his face into it. Leo gagged "Who's the funny guy that did this?" he demanded

He turned around to see Garo smirking & towering over him. "Garo?" Leo asked

"Hey how's it going?" Garo greeted & the 2 of them fist bumped.

"It was fine until you dunked my face into spaghetti." Leo growled

Garo chuckled "Oh that wasn't me." he said before stepping to the side to show a laughing Christi standing behind him.

"I should have known." Leo muttered

"Well that's what happens when you put your guard down." Christi sassed

"Why are you guys here anyway?" Leo asked

"I called them." Quiver replied "I thought it would be a good idea to have some back up incase Blite does get here."

"You do know that this is a school full of students that can slug sling, right?" Jake asked Quiver who shrugged & gave an apologetic smile.

"That's ok." Leo said "It's great to have you guys here."

"It sure is," Garo agreed "plus we can check this place out."

"I know I've never been here," Christi added "so that sounds like a great idea."

Leo turned to Karina "So how about a tour?" Leo requested & Karina agreed to it.

As the 8 of them began their tour Blite had just arrived to Bullseye Cavern. "This is going to be fun." he snarled to himself before he rode his rusty dog mecha-beast off towards Slugterra University.

As soon as he arrived to the campus he fired a Hyper Vindrill followed by a pair of Hyper Neotoxes. The Vinedrill used its Vinelash move to throw around several students while the Neotoxes poisoned groups of students & staff. Immefiatly the entire campus was in an uproar of people trying to avoid the rampaging Blite as he continued to fire Hyper slug after Hyper slug.

Leo & the group had just made it to Shane Hall when they heard the screaming. "What's going on?" Karina asked one of the panicking students.

"Some psycho is firing off Neotoxes." the student answered before running off.

"Sounds like Blite found us." Sydney wined

"Already?" Leo asked

"Hey at least you have back up." Garo pointed out as he & everyone else pulled out & loaded their blasters.

"But I promised dad that I wouldn't go after Blite." Leo said

"Technically Blite came for you so you're going to defend yourself." Jake pointed out

Leo grinned as he pulled out his blaster & loaded Soap. "I love loopholes." he grinned before they ran off to face Blite.

Blite fired another Hyper Neotox at a group of students but a velacimorphed Soap swallowed up the slug before it could poison anyone. Blite turned to where the Bubbaleone was fired from to see Garo firing CaveIn at him. CaveIn burrowed through the ground & trapped Blite inside a small trench. Blite easily climbed out & fired a Hyper Neotox at the oncoming slingers, but Jake fired his Tormato who blew the Neotox back at the masked Blite. Blite growled & fired a Vinedrill but Garo managed to knock the slug away with a powerful punch. Blite snarled as Jake froze Blite's lower half with a Frostcrawler. Blite growled & smashed the ice just as Karina fired Saphire, her Infernus, as Christi & Sydney fired their Slyrens. Saphira used her Flamespire attack on Blite trapping him on flames as the Slyrens used their Whistleer moves on him. Blite struggled to load & fire a Vinedrill that used its vines to knock away the 3 slugs & it raised Blite into the air. Blite then hot Quiver with a Vinedrill who made Quiver's skin itchy. Jake then fired Speedy who hit Blite's head. Blite shook himself. "I thought Shanes were supposed to play fairly." he snarled

"As if you care about playing fair." Leo replied before firing Fang.

Blite quickly fired a Neotox but Fang latched on to it & drained it of its slug energy. Once he had let go of the slug, Fang flew at Blite, & punched him sending him falling to the ground below. Just before Blite crashed into the ground he fired a Neotox who created a small gas of poison & disappeared into it. Leo & the group surrounded the cloud & aimed their blasters ready for Blite to show himself. When the cloud disappeared all that was left was a hole in the ground with roots & vines tangled around it. "He got away." Leo groaned & put his blaster away.

"Now what?" Garo asked

"Do we go after him?" Quiver asked once the itchiness had subsided.

"No none of you will be going after him." Karina denied "You will all go to the Beast Forge, I call Eli, & then Jake & I will hunt down Blite until Eli gets here."

"But we're the perfect bait if Blite is after us & besides he already knows that we're here." Leo protested

"Exactly if he thinks you're here then you must leave before he shows himself again." Jake clarified

"Fine, just don't let him get you guys." Leo said

Karina chuckled "Not to worry he can't touch us." she commented

Once everyone had calmed down & repairs have begun Leo, Sydney, Tim, Christi, Garo, & Quiver left for the Beast Forge. They called Kord ahead of time to inform him about their situation & that they need a place to stay.

"It's about time you guys got here." Kord greeted when they finally arrived to the Beast Forge.

"We're here now." Tim responded as he fist bumped Kord.

"Come on inside before anyone sees you." Kord said as he led them all into the Forge's garage.

Meanwhile, Blite watched them from afar with a giant lizard like silhouette growling behind him. "Patience my pet you'll be fed very soon." Blite grinned as he placed his mask back on & the silhouette continued to growl.

"Has anybody seen Tim?" Sydney asked a few minutes after they had entered the Forge.

They were all seated on their mechas inside the garage just hanging out & talking.

"Not since we got here." Leo answered

"Should we go look for him?" Christi asked

"I'll go look for him." Leo said before hopping off Walker & made his way through the Forge.

Leo looked from room to room until he decided to check to the kitchen. As he passed up Kord's office a strange mashed figure jumped in front if Leo making him scream. "I got you!" Tim laughed through the welding mask he had found.

Leo smacked Tim's head. "That wasn't funny." Leo growled

Tim just laughed as he ran off back towards the garage. Leo just shook his head in disproval before walking back towards the garage. As he walked through the halls he heard a loud roar from the garage. "What did Tim do know?" Leo demanded

"What about me?" Tim asked when he appeared next to Leo.

"Wait if you're here them what was-" Leo didn't finish instead he ran off for the garage with Tim at his heels.

The first thing they saw when they got to the garage was a giant red lizard with 4 legs, 4 eyes, horns, a mouth full of 2 rows of teeth, long red arms, & a masked Blite riding on top of it. "Is that a dinosaur?!" Leo demanded as Sydney & everyone else fired slugs at Blite & the dino with little success.

Leo looked around at the situation to see that the garage gate had become rusty, probably because of a Neotox, & a giant hole was torn into it, probably from the dino. Everyone & Blite slinged slugs at each other. "Stay back Tim." Leo ordered before running off towards the fight.

Leo loaded & slinged Goop who pasted the Dino's mouth shut just as it tried to bite down on Quiver. "Finally all my targets are here." Blite commented

"Wait all your targets?" Leo asked "Then that means, you haven't been targeting Eli you've been targeting us!"

"That's correct." Blite confirmed "I seek revenge on Eli & the best way to do that is by destroying his own flesh & blood!" Blite roared as his dino finally broke through the goop & roared with triumph.

The dino then charged Garo & Sydney who barely managed to avoid being trembled. Leo frowned & fired Smasher who punched the dino on the face but the dino easily shook it off & charged at Leo. Leo panicked & fired Pitfall who managed to trap one of the dino's legs in sand. "Where did Blite get that thing?" Leo demanded

"He's a souvenir from the Cavern of Time." Blite answered "And the reason why I've been able to track you all day."

"Oh so that's how he did it." Quiver commented but then he ducked down as the dino tried to swat him with its tail.

"You're going down, Blite!" Leo yelled.

He fired Slushy, as Christi fired a Hop Rock, & Sydney fired Marina. Blite however fired a Hyper Vinedrill who managed to grab onto Slushy & the Hop Rock & flung them back at their slingers who luckily avoided them. Marina however managed to use her Cyclonator attack to knock Blite off his dino. Blite picked himself up & whistled. The dino obeyed & ran up to Blite who remounted onto it. Blite then fired a Hyper Neotox at Leo but Christi fired a Frostcralwer who froze the slug before it could even velacimorph. "Thanks." Leo said but then he was smacked by the dino's tail.

Leo crashed into a very familiar & repaired metal door. Leo looked up at the door & realized what it was. Leo grinned & looked to Save "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" he asked & Save nodded in excitement before Leo entered through the metal door.

Blite, meanwhile, continued to fire slug after slug as the dino continued to stomp around & try to catch itself a snack. A sudden mechanical roar boomed from the open metal door. Everyone even the dino stopped to look at the door. A roar boomed out again as Leo appeared atop of a familiar & giant mecha. "What is that thing?" Blite demanded

"Blite & dino meet Rex." Leo greeted as the mecha T-Rex roared.

Blite growled & fired a Hyper Vindrill but Rex easily knocked it away with his giant metal tail. The dino then bit down on Rex's tail. Leo got Rex to swing his tail around & free it. Rex then turned around & bit down on the dino's neck nearly bitting Blite. Blite jumped up onto Rex & tried to punch Leo but he was knocked off by a Rammstone from Garo. Blite got back on the dino as it got free of Rex's jaws. It then tackled & pined Rex & Leo to the wall. Leo tried to get them free but Blite loaded a Neotox & aimed it at Leo's head. "Any last words, little Shane?" Blite asked wickedly.

"Nope." Leo smirked as he pressed a button & several blasters propped themselves on Rex.

Blite was taken by surprise as the Rex's blasters opened fired on him & the dino. SparkPlug zapped the dino as Basher smacked it in the face. Return repeatedly hit Blite & the dino as Gasher nearly took his hand off. Blite growled & fired a Hyper Neotox followed by a Vinedrill. Rex chomped down on the Neotox & threw it to the side as Rocket was launched & burned down the Vinedrill.

As Leo & Blite continued to battle everyone else had gathered by their mechas with cavecorn in their hands. "Should we do something?" Garo asked

"Na, Leo'a got this." Sydney answered & they continued to watch the epic fight.

Leo had Rex launch Slushy, Prize, & Driller at the dino & Blite each slug smashed into one of them. Blite fired 3 Neotoxes but Leo used Rex's tail to fend them off. "You can't win Blite, just give up." Leo ordered

"That will never happened." responded a sour toned Blite, the dino charged at Rex & bite down on its neck nearly chomping on Leo. Rex used his giant foot to kick the dino away. The 2 giants roared at each other before they tackled each other head on, continuously. "This is getting us nowhere." Save pointed out.

"I think you're right." Leo agreed & placed Save into a slug tube.

He was about to load him into his blaster when the dino tackled Rex from the side & sent Save & Leo off Rex's back. Save was thrown near a pillar as Leo fell by Rex's foot. Everyone gasped as the dino marched towards Leo. "My revenge has finally arrived." Blite snarled as he aimed a Hyper Neotox at Leo "Your time in Slugterra is over." Blite threatened & fired the slug.

Just as the slug was going to release its poison it was knocked away by megamorphed Burpy. "What?!" Blite demanded & turned to see Eli with the Shane Gang, Karina, & Jake at the entrance of the garage. "Eli Shane." Blite growled

"Hello Blite long 'time' no see." Eli taunted before firing a megamorphed Dozer who put the dino to sleep. "No I will have my revenge!" Blite roared and fired a Hyper Vinedrill but it was easily taken down by Jake's albino Infernus.

Blite roared in anger & fired a giant group of Neotoxes that created a Neotoxs Fog. Everyone who had a Vinedrill fried it & they used their Vinevent moves to get rid of the cloud. Blite was fuming with anger, but while he was distracted Leo had retrieved Save, loaded, & fired him at Blite. Save velacimorphed & blasted a ray blast at Blite sending him crashing into the wall, knocking off his mask, & he passed out due to the hard hit he had just taken. "We, we did it. We stopped Blite." Leo said as Karina pulled off Blite's bandolier.

"What should we do with these Hyper slugs?" she asked

"I've got a Hyper cure machine right here." Kord replied with the machine in his giant arm, he grabbed the bandolier, & placed the slugs inside before powering on the machine.

Leo watched as the slugs were cured & then he held out his hand to one of the cured Neotoxes. "I know allot of people fear your species, right?" Leo asked

"Unfortunately yes." the ashamed male Neotox answered

"Well I'm not afraid that's why I want you to join my team." Leo said & the slug looked up to him in curiosity & surprise. "So do you want to help stop psychos?" Leo asked

The Neotox smiled happily & jumped into Leo's hand, Leo raised him up, & petted his new slug. "I'll make you Revenge." Leo grinned as well as the Neotox.

"So what's going to happen to Blite?" Tim asked Eli

"Oh I have an idea." Eli answered with a grin.

About an hour later, Blite had finally recovered from unconsciousness. He looked around to find himself seated on a sleeping dino & in a very familiar scene. He twitched with frustration before roaring a frustrated scream of anger that echoed throughout the Cavern of Time.

* * *

**I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and sorry it was so long but I just kept brainstorming ideas. **


	34. Chapter 34

**This chapter is very short compared to the last one I made. I would also to thank dicarten-ice for lending me an OC and my brother for a special slug. **

* * *

Ward the Warden

This takes place a couple days after Leo defeated Blite & sent him back to the Cavern of Time.

"How come I always have to end up like this?" Leo muttered as he sat in his prison cell.

He's wearing an orange prison uniform, his blaster was taken, as well as his bandolier, & backpack. The only thing that he actually owned & was with him was his eye patch & arm sleeve. "This is so not fair." he muttered as he thought about what had happened the previous day.

**Flash Back **

"Get down!" Leo ordered just as a Hyper Grenuke exploded near the Shane Strikers.

"They seem upset." Christi jeered as she fired an Arachnet at the army of Hyper Slingers who had them trapped by a rocky cliff that towered over them.

"Sorry, I knew I shouldn't have told them how bad of slingers they really are." Quiver joked

"Just keep slinging!" Garo yelled & fired a Rammstone at the oncoming Hyper goons.

The Hyper slingers scowled & fired a barrage of Hyper Tormato slugs. "Everybody run!" Leo yelled & they all ran for cover.

Everyone but Leo escaped the tornados. Leo was thrown around until he crashed into the cliff. "Leo!" Garo called

"Go without me!" Leo yelled back as the tornados raged on.

The Shane Strikers hesitated & then they reluctantly ran from the fight. "You guys better get going." Leo told his slugs as the tornados subsided & the Hyper slingers approached Leo, blasters ready to fire at him.

The slugs hopped out from the slug tubes & the backpack. "But we can't just leave you." Save chirped

"Sorry, but you guys have to get out of here!" Leo ordered

His slugs frowned & reluctantly hopped away leaving Leo to be captured by the Hyper goons.

**Present Time **

"I hate being locked up like a criminal." Leo wined

"But you are a criminal." chuckled a scrawny & southern accented prison guard.

The guard has pale white skin, messy orange hair, busted teeth, he's wearing a red & black cape with the Hyper H on it, a black & red suit with the H on it as well.

"A criminal that tried to stand up to Hyper." Leo muttered

"Haymitch, leave them prisoners alone!" ordered a husky & goateed man who spoke with a southern accent.

The man was pale white skin, a dark blonde goatee & sideburns, he's wearing a red & black cowboy hat, a black padded shirt & jacket, as well as black pants, gloves, & boots. He also has a bandolier on & a blaster at his side. He also has a very familiar prison guard with him.

"Yes Mr. Fungus." Haymitch saluted

"Go feed the slug hounds boy." Fungus ordered & Haymitch nodded frantically before running off.

Fungus then peered into Leo's cell. "Well would you look at that!" he said "A Shane locked away like the criminals their supposed to throw in here."

"Keep talking like that warden & you will end up in here." Leo threatened

"You better watch your mouth son or you may not have the luxury of having supper tonight." Fungus teased

"As if I want the disgusting food you serve here." Leo jeered

Fungus just burst into laughter. "Oh boy. I can't wait to teach you some manners." he laughed he then faced the guard. "Stay here & make sure this boy doesn't do any funny business." he ordered before marching off leaving the guard & Leo alone.

"Nice outfit, Twist." Leo commented the guard.

The guard smirked as red dusted appeared & he turned back into Twist/John Jones. "I told you to stop calling me that." Twist/John frowned as a _Thugglet_ named Loki hopped onto John's shoulder.

**Notice: John and Twist are the same person. **

"I know but I need some enjoyment while I'm behind bars." Leo grinned & stood up.

"Behind bars." John echoed "I never thought I would hear a Shane say that."

"Well surprise, now could you?" Leo asked pointing to the cell door.

John grinned as he inserted the key & opened the door. As Leo exited the cell Save spores right next to Loki before hoping onto Leo's shoulder. "Great to see you bud." Leo greeted & then turned to John who just handed him one of the prison blasters. "So who else did you bring?" Leo requested

John stretched out his arm to reveal 9 other slugs. They were Pierce, Star, Slips, Weaver, Sorry, Gasher, Return, PitFall, & Revenge. They hopped into Leo's shoulders & head & greeted him, relieved to see him alright. "Great to see you guys too." Leo greeted happily. "Is this all of them?" Leo asked John

"Yes." John answered & Leo gave him a disapproving look. "What did you want me to sneak an army of slugs in here?" John asked as he handed Leo a bandolier full of slug tubes.

"No but you could have brought more." Leo replied

"You know we can either stay here & argue or we can leave before anyone notices." John snapped & loaded Loki into his blaster.

He fired Loki who disguised both Leo & John as prison guards. They then made their way through the prison looking at all the prisoners that have been thrown in there. All of the prisoners however were merely slug rights activates that annoyed Hyper too much, others were slingers that tried to oppose Hyper, & some were just innocent people. They continued until they made it to the back entrance of the prison which is located on a large & heavily jungled island in Undertow Cavern.

"So where to?" Leo asked

"We need to head to the south side of the island." John answered as their disguised disappeared.

"Alright let's move." Leo said & ran towards the jungle just then the search lights & sirens roared throughout the prison. "Looks like they're on to us." Leo pointed out & they ran through the jungle.

Meanwhile, Mr. Fungus marched through the Hyper prison with a pair of skinny guards at his side. "Well, well, well boys looks like we got ourselves a runner." he smirked to his guards & he gripped his blaster.

Fungus marched back through the prison & fired a Hyper Hop Rock to scare the other prisoners. "Ain't nobody ever escaped this here Hyper prison," he said as he fired another Hyper Hop Rock. "but I know of a few folks that disappeared trying, but not today" he added and fired a Hop Rock again, scaring another prisoner. "no today I'm looking forward to bringing back a live one." he grinned as they entered the prison courtyard. "Today I want me a chase!" he declared & his guards cheered in agreement.

"Haymitch!" Fungus called to him as he just given the slug hounds their food.

"Sir, Mr. Fungus, sir." Haymitch saluted & stood at attention as Fungus approached him.

"Don't feed the slug hounds this morning." Fungus ordered "We need em good & hungry."

Haymitch looked back at the food & tried to snatch it away but the slug hound snatched at his hand nearly bitting it off. Haymitch panicked & fell backwards. "& we're going to need some sharp eyes in the sky so go fire off some Hyper Hoverbugs." Fungus added

Haymitch ran off & fired a group of Hyper Hoverbugs into the air. The Hyper slugs velacimorphed & flew off to track down Leo as the slug hounds howled in excitement.

"Sounds like they've got their slug hounds ready." Leo said when he heard the howling.

"I think so." John agreed

Back in the prison Fungus, Haymitch, the 2 guards, & the 5 slug hounds had just walked out of the courtyard & stood near the jungle. "You all better be on high alert tonight!" Fungus announced "This here jungle is chalked full of treachery."

Meanwhile, John & Leo fired their Thugglets who created several illusions of Leo & then spread them out through the jungle. Once they were spread out John looked towards the prison to see Hoverbugs flying in their direction. "Hoverbugs." he warned "Time to move." he ordered & they ran off into the dense jungle.

In a few minutes the Hoverbugs spotted the first illusion, they began to circle over it, giving away its location. "Mr. Fungus, the Hoverbugs got something." Haymitch announced & pointed to the circling slugs.

"Oh shoot, already?!" Fungus demanded happily "I guess I got out here for nothing." he added & turned to the leashed & growling slug hounds. "Go on get em." The hounds growled happily. "But be sure to bring that boy back...alive." he added just as the guards unleashed them & the hounds sprinted off into the jungle towards the circling slugs with Fungus & the others close behind.

The slug hounds spotted the illusion & pounced at it only to dog pile on each other when the illusion disappeared. Fungus laughed at the slug hounds' expense "Oh this boy thinks he's a smart one!" he laughed as the slug hounds howled again.

"Sounds like their still onto us." Leo said when he heard the howls.

"I think you're right." John said as they heard another howl followed by approaching growling & barking.

Leo & John ducked down into the tall grass just as Fungus & his lackeys came into view. "You better just come on out here boy!" Fungus called "You better congratulate yourself for making it this far. No one ever made it this far from the prison before. Speaking of which you're not even an escapee yet, this whole island is the prison!" Fungus announced as the slug hounds snarled & growled. "So why don't you come on out here before I have the unpleasant trouble of having my pets bring you back instead." Fungus smirked menacingly as they neared the well hidden Leo & John.

"I think it's time for a distraction." Leo whispered to Sorry & instantly one of the Leo illusions appeared from the jungle & ran the opposite direction of where Leo & John were hiding.

The guards & Haymitch yelped & cheered just before chasing down the illusions. "Hold it right there!" Fungus roared & they stopped dead in their tracks. "You boys got to pay attention, don't let this boy think that he got a better mind than you." Fungus explained he then turned around & fired a Hyper Thresher slug at the grass.

The slug velacimorphed & trimmed the grass to reveal a hiding Leo & John. Fungus chuckled "Well would you look at that we have a runner & an accomplice!" Fungus laughed

Leo immediate fired Returned who smacked them all on the face. "Split up!" John yelled as Return came back to Leo & they both ran off in opposite directions.

Fungus turned to his lackeys & slug hounds. "Forget the nobody slinger, we're after a Shane!" he declared & they all hollered & cheered in excitement before they headed off to catch Leo.

Leo continued to sprint through the jungle, vines & branches smacking him in the face, until he tripped over a root & fell right into the mud. "Gross." Leo gagged as he wiped away the mud.

Suddenly the bushes near Leo began to shake. Leo loaded Pierce, aimed him at the bushes, & waited for Fungus or his lackeys to show themselves. The bushes shook more & more ferociously with every second until a tiny little slug appeared.

The slug was totally new to Leo it has the body shape of a Thresher only it is completely dark green. It has 2 red antennas, 2 light green lines that extends from the middle of its belly then over its head & ends at its tail, it also has light green frills with light blue flaps folded down around its neck.

"What kind of slug are you?" Save asked the little thing.

"I'm a VenusSlim." the slug replied as it's frills opened up & from its voice Leo could tell it was a boy & it's rather very young.

"Well how do you feel about joining my team?" Leo requested & held out his hand to the little VenusSlim.

The VenusSlim pondered on the offer & answered "As long as I get to go adventuring, then count me in." And he hopped into Leo's hand.

Leo raised him up, placed him on his shoulder right next to Save, & said "I'll name you-" but he was cut off by the sound of barking & growling approaching him.

Leo immediately began to run but the slug hounds easily caught up to him. Leo spun around, & fired Revenge who created a toxic gas that paralyzed the hounds. Leo allowed Revenge to return to him & then he continued to run until he came upon a fast flowing river. Leo turned to see Fungus nearing him. "You better slow down son!" Fungus called out.

"Why?" Leo demanded "Can't someone as big as you keep up with someone like me!" Leo taunted

Leo then followed the river downstream but he stopped right at the edge of a cliff. Leo looked down to see the waterfall crashing into a river down below. "That's far enough son." Fungus ordered when they had Leo surrounded & trapped by the cliff's edge. "It's time to go home." he added "And if you come quietly I may lightened up on your escape punishment, just a bit." he said with a smug & he held his fingers up & an inch apart as the guards chuckled, the hounds growled, & the velacimorphed Hoverbugs circled them from above.

Leo looked back down at the river & then back at Fungus. "Sorry warden, but not today." Leo declared before diving off the cliff & into the river below.

"Hurry after that boy!" Fungus ordered before his guards & hounds ran off to find Leo.

Meanwhile, John ran through the jungle trying to avoid a pair of velacimorphed Hyper Hoverbugs. He dove behind a bush & fired a Tazerling, zapping the slugs into unconsciousness. John then listened out in case anybody was following him. "I think we lost them." he sighed to Loki.

He tried to use a branch from the bush to lift himself up, but instead of grabbing a branch he touched something cold & rusty. John cleared the branches to see an abandoned & rusty mecha- beast lying in the mud. John managed to drag the mecha out of the bushes & mud. He examined it & realized that it was missing a few parts, he looked back through the bushes & ferns & somehow he managed to find the missing parts. "Let's see what I can do." John said as he cracked his knuckles & got to work on the mecha.

Back in the river, Leo sprung out of the river & gagged for air. He swam to the edge & pulled himself out of the water & then laid their catching his breath same as his slugs.

Leo then hatched himself an idea, he ripped off his shirt & used the sleeve as a headband, & then he used a bit of mud as face paint. Once he was set Leo began to work on several traps. He used PitFall to create a pitfall trap which Leo covered with branches & grass & placed a bit of his torn shirt as bait. He had Weaver create ropes of webbing, he took several quips from Pierce, & he even made himself a makeshift slug slingshot. He set up a whole bunch of other traps & once he was set he just waited for his not so friendly friends to appear.

Once the warden, his lackeys, hounds, & Hoverbugs appeared Leo loaded Star into his blaster. Once the Hoverbugs spotted him they circled over him, but Leo fired Star up at them & they were blinded. They panicked & began flying around blindingly crashing into the trees or each other & then fall to the ground in a daze.

Fungus noticed the chaos & growled "Nobody messes with my slugs."

Leo had made himself a wooded microphone & yelled saying "I won't be so worried about your slugs warden, I'd be worried about your friends." Leo called out & watched as the guards tensed up & got nervous.

Fungus turned to his guards. "Find that voice." he growled

Leo continued to tread through the jungle & then he spoke out through the microphone again. "Careful now this here jungle is chalked full of treachery!" he yelled trying to mimic Fungus' southern accent.

As he said that 2 of the slug hounds spotted the piece of Leo's shirt. They approached it but were sent falling into a pitfall trap.

One of the guards & a slug hound climbed up a bent branch as they were climbing over it Gasher so happened to be right there next to the webbing that was holding the branch down. He chewed up the webbing to allow the branch to spring up & send the guard & hound flying into the air & landing somewhere out of Fungus' sight. "Seems like your pals have somewhere they'd rather be!" Leo teased through the microphone.

Just then the other guard & the last of the slug hounds stepped onto Slips who was acting as a trip wire & Revenge was fired at them from a slingshot. Revenge paralyzed the guards & returned to protoform to high five Slips.

"I think I found him." Haymitch announced when he reached Fungus.

Haymitch led Fungus to a bunch of ferns & there on the otherwise was an illusion of Leo with its back turned to them. Haymitch shushed at Fungus before he tiptoed toward the illusion. Fungus just knocked Haymitch to the ground & gave him a disapproving look. "Haven't you been paying attention?" Fungus growled

He then walked around the ferns & tapped the illusion allowing it to disappear & a rope of web covered in Dirt Urchin spikes swung out of the tree & swung where Haymitch would have been standing if Fungus didn't stop him. "Now see what I just saved you from?" Fungus asked as he grabbed the spike roped & pulled it only it was a trigger for a snare that tightened around Haymitch's foot & raise him into the air. "Ops." was all Fungus could say as he watched Haymitch dangle in the air.

Leo laughed & raised up the microphone. "See warden, it's starting to get a little lonely out here!" Leo laughed trying to mimic the southern accent, again.

Fungus threw his hat on the ground & yelled "That does it! I want every guard out here searching, right know!" he roared & then he turned to the dangling Haymitch. "Haymitch go warm up Bessy!" he ordered "Looks like I'm going to have to get her dirty." he added as he fired a Hyper Thresher to cut Haymitch down.

Meanwhile, John continued to work on the mecha he used webbing to tie parts together, used a Forgesmelter to weld other parts, used an Aquabeek to wash away rubble stuck in the pipes, & soon he was done. He stood back & examined the mecha-beast. It was still rusty but it appeared to be a dilophosaurus with frills, a tail, claws, & jaws. John mounted it. "I think Kord would be proud." John said to Loki as he revved up the engine but a piece of the tail fell off & Loki gave a worried look.

Back at the prison Fungus revved up his swamp green gator mecha-beast whose label read B-SY or Bessy. He revved up the engine & sprinted off on the surprisingly swift & powerful mecha. "The fun is over son." Fungus growled to himself. "I'm coming to get ya." he added as he approached the area where Leo had set up his traps.

When he got there he had his mecha tear down any tree with its powerful jaws or with its strong metal tail. Fungus also fired several Hyper Threshers to chop down all the trees in that area as a nervous Leo watched from behind a medium sized tree. "We got you know boy!" one if the guards yelled as they all searched the area.

Just then a Thresher sawed through the tree Leo was behind, but luckily he had ducked down in time. Leo looked around & finally noticed that most of the trees around him have been cut down. He then ran towards the jungle but Fungus ran Bessy into his way. "I got ya now boy." Fungus grinned as the other guards surrounded Leo & he stepped off Bessy.

Leo cautiously backed up towards the fallen trees as the guards continued to approach him. "We got him now, Mr. Fungus!" Haymitch cheered

"I can tell, son." Fungus snapped & fired a Hyper Hop Rock near Leo to scare him. Fungus faced Leo. "So are you coming quiet like?" he asked & then fired another Hyper slug. "Or is there going to be trouble?" he asked as they neared Leo.

Leo quickly pulled out his blaster & fired Save. Save blasted out a wave of energy that knocked all the guards off their feet except for Fungus. "Now you've done it, boy." he snarled & fired a Hyper Rammstone that nearly smacked Leo.

"Time for a little help." Leo commented as he pulled out a slug tube with the VenusSlim inside of it.

Fungus laughed. "Boy, do you even know how to use a VenusSlim?" he asked "Because I do." he smirked & pulled out a growling Hyper VenusSlim.

"You have one too?!" Leo asked in surprise.

Fungus chuckled. "Of course I have one, they're a dime a dozen on this here island." he answered just before firing the slug.

The velacimorphed VenusSlim has a slim green body similar to the shape of a velacimorphed Thresher except without the teeth & saw blades. It's completely dark green, has 2 red vertical dorsals on its head, fangs poking out of its mouth, long clawed arms, light green frills with light blue flaps, & sharp thorn like talons on the tips of the frills.

The slug burrowed into the ground & then a giant venues flytrap like plant sprouted & tried to chomp down on Leo, Fungus laughed historically as Leo kept avoiding the giant man eating plant. Leo fired Gasher who managed to chop down the plant. "Son, you're messing with the wrong warden." Fungus growled & fired a Hyper Armashelt.

Leo dove out of the way & fired his VenusSlim at the warden. The slug velacimorphed but instead of a giant plant appearing the slug opened up & expanded its frills to reveal its sharp talons. The slug wrapped its frill around Fungus & began to strangle him in a tight grip. "Oh so that's what he does." Leo said to Save as Fungus tried to free himself from the slug's grip.

But then John appeared from atop the dilophosaurus mecha & stopped the mecha by Leo. "Need a lift?" John grinned & helped Leo into the mecha before they hopped over the surprised Fungus, Leo snatched up his protoform VenusSlim, & they sprinted off towards the south side of the island.

Fungus mounted onto Bessy. "Son I'm going to lock you away for a long time!" Fungus snarled as he revved up Bessy's engine & rode off to catch the runner & his accomplice.

"Where did you find this thing?" Leo asked

"In the jungle." John answered "Where's your shirt & what's with the face paint?" he asked before a Hyper Hop Rock came flying by nearly knocking Save off Leo's shoulder.

They all turned around to see an enraged Fungus catching up to them. "Hang on." John said as the mecha picked up speed.

Fungus was now on their tail & continued to fire Hyper slug after Hyper slug at them as John swerved past trees & rocks. Fungus however wasn't as lucky & Bessy hit a tree. Fungus looked to Bessy's side to see a gaping scratch in its paint. "You better hope I get you soon." Fungus growled "Because I'm begging to lose my patience." he snarled & he fired another Hyper Thresher that nearly decapitated John.

"This guy just doesn't quite." Leo commented as they sped through the jungle.

Fungus fired a Hyper Lavalynx that melted part of the mecha's frill. Leo fired Return who tried to hit Fungus but he was knocked away by the gator mecha's jaws & he had to fly back to Leo. Fungus smirked but then was hit in the face by mud that Leo had threw at him. Fungus growled as Leo laughed & Save mocked & spat his tongue out at the annoyed warden. "You better watch yourself boy." Fungus growled "You don't want to experience the anger of Bessy." he warned & Bessy leaped forward & bite down on the dilophosaurus mecha's tail.

Bessy harshly shook the slingers & mecha & then threw them forward before Fungus fired a Hyper Grenuke. The mecha quickly got back up & ran away from the explosion. "Like I said yous be coming back with me." Fungus snarled as he chased them down.

Fungus continued to fire Hyoer slug after Hyper slug at Leo & John who continued to avoid trees & the attacking slugs. "I'm going to have you 2 back in cells before supper time." Fungus promised as he continued to attack.

"Looks like we're almost there." Leo commented when the dirt shifted into sand & the trees were being replaced by gagged rocks. Leo turned around to face Fungus. "Well warden it's been a real fun chase!" he grinned

"It sure has boy, because I'm about to turn you in." Fungus snarled as they all made it to the beach on the south side of the island.

"Sorry, to disappoint you warden, but I've got a ride to catch." Leo grinned as John stopped his mecha by the water.

"What ride?" Fungus chuckled "You've just run out of land."

"But not water!" Eli yelled out as a giant ship came into view & docked by the beach.

On the sides of the ship appeared to be cannons which were being operated by Garo, Kord, &...Tim? Fungus's face filled with astonishment as they gunners aimed at him. "See ya warden." Leo said & mimicked Fungus's accent before John leaped the mecha into the ship.

Once they were aboard Tim opened fired on Fungus & the explosions sent him & Bessy flying & crashing back into the jungle as Leo grinned with amusement. "That darn kid is going to pay for this!" Fungus roared after he crashed & then he lost his balance & collapsed.

"Oh it wasn't anything I couldn't handle." Leo said after he explained what had happened to Christi.

Leo had himself properly dressed now, he was cleaned up, & he got his blaster, bandolier, & the rest of his slugs back. "So how did your half of the mission go?" Leo asked as they entered the main part of the ship so Leo could see all the other escapees. "Great job, Christi." Leo commented "Did you get everyone?"

"Every last one." Christi grinned as the once prisoned people chatted & thanked the Shane Gang & the Shane Strikers for freeing them all.

"So what are you naming that VenusSlim?" John asked when he walked over to Leo & Christi.

Leo looked to the slug, who was perched next to Save. "I think I'll call him Warden." Leo replied & they all grinned in agreement.

"Can you imagine Fungus's face right about now?" Save laughed to a grinning Warden.

Meanwhile, a bruised & battered Fungus entered his prison, his eye twitched, & he roared in anger when he saw how much of the place was trashed & all the cell doors were open. "What happened to all the prisoners, Mr. Fungus?" Haymitch asked when he walked inside.

Fungus just growled, he grabbed his blaster, & began firing slugs on the oblivious Haymitch.


	35. Chapter 35

**Please leave a review &/or a suggestion at the end.**

* * *

Freezer Burn

"Woohoo!" cheered the snow racers as they sped on their snowmobile mechas into the main square of the Snow Carnival, that's held every year.

The snow racers continued their epic ride by jumping off the makeshift ramps, speeding through the main square of the carnival, & crashing into anything with giant grins on their faces. "Woohoo!" They screamed as they sped past the Shane Strikers & covered them in snow. "I know this is supposed to be a fun carnival," Christi frowned as she wiped away the snow. "but these guys are seriously out of control."

"I know." Leo agreed "Isn't it great?!" he asked with a grin.

Just then another snow rider past by in a white & light blue colored deer mecha. This guy was skinny, has messy blue hair, wears a red winter hat, a blue scarf, a red long sleeved shirt, an orange padded sleeveless winter vest, orange & grey lined pants, gloves, & boots.

"Woohoo!" the guy hollered as he rode his mecha off a ramp & flew into the air only to crash down on one of the carnival tents.

The crowd gasped as the mecha & rider crashed & the tent collapsed. But before anyone knew it the insane guy jumped out of the wreckage & cheered "Woohoo!" with the crowd joining in as well.

"That's totally insane." Christi frowned

"These are my kind of people." Leo commented

"You know for someone that nearly died at age 10, you would think that person would be more cautious." Sydney added

Sydney was there with her friends, so she decided to invite the Shane Strikers, & she convinced Eli & Trixie to allow Tim to come along too.

"You would think so, but when you're that close to death you realize that life's just too short." Leo replied as the guy that crashed earlier & 2 other riders parked their snow ski mechas by the group of 8 people.

"Oh, guys this is who I want you all to meet." Sydney said & walked over to the skinny guy & the other 2 riders with him one was a boy & the other a girl. "Guys this is ColdCut," Sydney greeted & pointed to the skinny rider. She then pointed to the girl, who was chewing on some bubblegum.

The girl has long wild purple hair, she's skinny, has ear rings on, a pink long sleeved shirt, an orange sleeveless winter vest that's insulated with fur, she has brown & orange striped pants, brown gloves, & boots. "This is Snowflake," Sydney added & then pointed to the last of the trio.

The boy is skinny just like the other 2, he has crazy blond hair, a small goatee, a black winter cape, a dark orange long sleeved shirt, a blue sleeveless winter vest, blue pants with orange lines, blue gloves, & boots. "& this is Tundra." Sydney greeted "they're responsible for the annual Snow Carnival."

"And we're the number one snow racers & dare devils, eh." ColdCut added, as he spoke they could tell that he had a Canadian accent.

"Yup, & without them we wouldn't have all this snow here." Ashely added

"Oh that's not because of us." Snowflake corrected "It's thanks to that." she said & pointed to a nearby tower.

The tower is clearly made of metal, it's thin, & has a large top. "You see we're actually in a small part of the desert." Snowflake continued

"But thanks to this here tower we can change that, eh." Tundra added

"You see," ColdCut started "that there tower has several turrets installed inside, all of them are pointed upward, & they're only loaded with a whole bunch of Frostcrawlers, eh." he finished

"And those Frostcrawlers are shot off every hour on the hour." Snowflake added & just then a bell rang. "Speaking of which." she grinned & looked to the tower.

5 turrets poked out of the top of the tower & began firing Frostcralwers into the air. The Frostcrawlers velacimorphed & used their Deepfreeze moves towards the ceiling of the cavern. The snow then floated down as cold wind & snowflakes to keep anything from melting.

"I have a question." Tim said, raising his hand.

"What is it, eh?" ColdCut asked

"Why would you build a tower & set up a Snow Carnival in the desert?" Tim asked

"Because the frozen sand hills are great for slopes, ramps, & there's allot more room here than at Chill Born Cavern." ColdCut replied

"But why not SnowDance Cavern?" Quiver asked

Tundra spoke up & answered "Because those hosers over there were afraid that we'd wake up those Ice Ogres, eh."

"Well all the noise probably would have." Christi said

"Oh no the noise didn't wake em up." Snowflake corrected

"Wait, _didn't_" Leo echoed

"That's right," ColdCut grinned "last year we did wake em up, but some hosers came by & stopped the fun, eh."

"I bet I know who those guys were." Save whispered to Leo, referring to the Shane Gang.

"Anyway," ColdCut continued "to allow you guys to enjoy all the activities here we installed snowmobile modes into your mechas." he clarified & pointed to all the nearby mechas, they also installed a side seat on Walker for Tim to use.

The snowmobile modes are that the mechas have their legs folded up & replaced with metal snow skies just like for water mode. "Cool." Leo commented as he examined the mechas.

"How about trying these puppies out in a snow race, eh?" ColdCut challenged

A snow race is just how it sounds slingers race each other on their snowmobile mechas to come in first place, but unlike normal races you're allowed to duel & use your slugs to your advantage.

Leo & his friends gave a wicked grins "You're so on." Leo answered before they all revved up their mechas & rode off to a vacant track.

ColdCut lined up at the start along with Christi, Garo, Sydney, Luke, Leo, & Tim will ride with Leo in the side seat as Ashly, Quiver, & Tundra sat by to watch along with a small crowd that had heard about the race. Snowflake stood in front of the starting line, holding her blaster, & chewing on her bubblegum. "When this here Hop Rock goes off, you all go wild!" she cheered & the crowd cheered along with her.

She raised up the blaster as she blew a bubble. When the bubble popped she fired the slug & the 6 racers & Tim zoomed into the track.

As the racers sped through the track a strange cloaked guy peered through his binoculars from a sand mound that wasn't frozen & actually in the desert. "When, are we getting those slugs, Clark?" a raider asked the guy.

Clark tossed aside his binoculars & answered "Very soon, but first we need to see what to be aware of." Clark answered to the army of Desert Sand.

**Notice: If you don't remember Clark or the Desert Sand then visit Chapter 14. **

Meanwhile, Leo & Tim had just passed up Garo & we're catching up to Christi who happened to be in 4th place. "Hurry up & pass her!" Tim demanded

"Don't worry we will." Leo grinned and Walker sped up towards Christi.

Christi turned her head to see Leo catching up. She pulled out her blaster & fired a Jellyish at the approaching Shane boys. Walker moved slightly to the left & the Jellyish slammed right into Tim's face. Leo laughed as Tim pulled off the sticky goo. Christi then fired a Grenuke but Leo switched Walker out of the way. "Ok now that was not called for." Leo growled as he pulled up to Christi's left side.

Tim still had the goo on his hands, he rolled it up into a ball, & threw it in Christi's face blinding her & she swerved to the right & crashed into a snow mound. "Shanes!" she screamed when she pulled herself out of the snow & Garo passed her up.

"Tim why did you do that?" Leo frowned

"Because I felt like it." Tim grinned "And besides Christi won't hurt a little kid like me."

"Yeah but she'll hurt me." Leo responded with fear of when Christi would catch up to him. Walker sped up & Sydney came into view in front of them. "You should have saved that slime for her." Leo grinned & sped towards Sydney.

Leo pulled out his blaster & fired Flight. Flight velacimorphed & flew at the unsuspecting Sydney, but just before he could snatch her up Sydney had turned around & fired a Phosphoro that blinded Flight & he crashed head on a stalagmite. "Nice try, Leo!" Sydney yelled & fired a Vinedrill that used its Thicketthorn attack right in Walker's path.

Leo quickly reacted & fired Gasher who cut right through the vines to allow Walker through. Sydney quickly spun around & fired an Armashelt. Leo launched Basher & the 2 slugs knocked each other out. Leo then slinged Virus who took control over Navy, Sydney's blue Panther mecha. Navy's eyes turned purple, it reverted into beast mode, & began to thrash about like a bull with Sydney desperately trying to hold on. Sydney was eventually flung backwards & landed in snow. "Leo!" she yelled as her brothers passed her up with smug faces.

"I guess that's 2 people that want to hurt you now." Tim grinned & Leo's smile disappeared into an expression of fear.

They continued through the track Leo hopped over ramps, swerved past stalagmites, & spun around several times because Tim begged him to do it. As they neared a straight away, but then a Speedstinger ratcheted out of nowhere & nearly hit Tim. "What was that?" Tim asked, but then a smirking Luke came into their front view as they entered the straight away.

Luke fired a Bubbaleone as Leo fired Heat who was stopped by the Bubbaleone. Leo the fired Warden who managed to burrow through the frozen ground & sprout out a giant man eating plant right in Luke's path. The plant tried to bite down on Luke as he sped towards it, but he quickly fired his Frightgeist that used its Ectophasm attack to knock away the giant mouth so Luke could pass by. Warden turned back into protoform & was caught by Tim before they continued through the snow covered track. Luke's mecha flew off a ramp & in midair he fired Dune, his Sand Angler, at the Shanes. Dune velacimorphed & created a deep trench right in Walker's path. Leo loaded & fired Slushy who created an ice ramp. Walker sped up & flew off the ramp & landed right in front of Luke. "I'm sorry did you want to be in front?" Leo jeered & sped forward.

Luke growled & fired Typhoon, his Tormato, he flew in front of Leo & Tim & used his Syphoon attack to twirl the 2 Shanes around in the vortex as Luke laughed & sped by. Typhoon eventually lost his rampaging twister & the Shanes fell into a snow mound. "He's getting away!" Tim yelled

"Not for long." Leo snapped, he revved up Walker, & they chased down the smug faced Luke.

Leo fired Dumpster at the unsuspecting Luke. Dumpster velacimorphed & surrounded Luke in a cloud of stink making him gag & nearly puking at the terrible smell. Leo & Tim laughed as they passed him up. Luke growled & fired a Lavalynx that nearly melted Walker if it weren't for Leo swerving out of the way to allow the slug to melt through a snow mound instead. Leo eventually left Luke behind & came upon the leader, ColdCut. "It's about time one of you hosers caught up to me." ColdCut commented as Leo neared him.

ColdCut flew over a ramp, he turned to see Leo attempting to jump it too, but ColdCut fired a Frostcrawler in midair. The Frostcrawler created a wall of ice on the edge of the ramp. Leo tried to stop Walker but smashed into the ice wall breaking it into little pieces. "That hurt." Leo groaned as Tim & him picked up Walker & got back on him.

"Let's go!" Tim ordered as Leo revved up Walker & they sped down the track.

They came upon a downhill straightaway & Leo noticed that the ending part of the track curve left & right. Leo hatched an idea, he loaded Slushy, waited until they neared the curving trail, & Leo fired Slushy. Slushy created an ice ramp & the Shanes flew over the curving trail, over ColdCut, & landed roughly on the ending straightaway. "Woohoo!" Leo hollered when they landed.

"We're going to win!" Tim cheered

"Those hosers are finally getting it, eh." ColdCut commented before making it out of the curving trail & into the last straightaway.

He loaded & fired a Frostcrawler followed by a Tormato. The 2 slugs velacimorphed with the Frostcrawler leading the way. The Tormato used its Galestorm attack on the Frostcrawler sending it flying at the cheering Shanes. The Frostcrawler zoomed past the surprised Shanes, it turned around, & created a giant ramp that curves backwards. Walker slide onto the ramp & they flew backwards, upside down, & over ColdCut giving him the lead. Leo & Tim screamed in fear as ColdCut laughed. "Hosers." he muttered as the Shanes crashed into a giant mound of snow.

"Woohoo!" ColdCut & the crowd cheered as he made it past the finish first.

Leo groaned as he freed himself from the snow. He looked around to see a victorious ColdCut, Tim was in a daze, & Walker was completely jammed into the snow & unable to be freed. Leo desperately tried to pull him out but by the time he did, he had ended up in last place. "About time you got here, eh." Tundra grinned when Leo & Tim finally made it to the finish, but the crowd had already dispersed.

"Yeah." Leo grinned awkwardly but then he was hit in the face by a snow ball. "Hey?!" Leo demanded & wiped away the snow only to see an enraged Christi & Sydney. "Wait," Leo said out of fear "I know what I did but-" he was cut off when Sydney punched him in the face & then Christi soaked Leo with an Aquabeek. "So...cold." Leo wined, teeth chattering as he sat in the snow with a bruised cheek.

"That's what happens when you play dirty." Christi growled

"But...it was...Tim who threw...the goop." Leo replied with his teeth still chattering.

Christi glared at Tim. "He made me do it!" Tim declared in fear & pointed at Leo.

Christi glared back at Leo before singing his eyebrows with a Flaringo. "At least now I'm warm." Leo sighed & then he sniffed the air. "Do you guys smell something burning?" he asked & looked to his left arm to see flames on his shoulder. Leo screamed & dove into a nearby snowman, knocking it down, but also killing the flames. "This is just not your day." Save chirped to the hurt & humiliated Leo.

"Girls are vicious." Leo wined as he picked himself up.

"You guys did a fine job out there." Snowflake commented

"Well except for that hoser." ColdCut whispered & pointed to Leo as he brushed himself off.

The group except Leo laughed but they were silenced when an alarm from the tower sounded. "What's going on?!" Quiver asked as they all covered their ears.

"There's trouble, eh." ColdCut answered & they all rode their snow mobile mechas over to the carnival plaza.

"What's going on, eh?" Tundra demanded from a staff member when they arrived to the plaza.

"Them." the guy answered & pointed to a bunch of cloaked raiders, who were running around on hyena mechas firing off slugs.

"Desert Sand?!" Leo said in shock. "What are they doing here?" Leo demanded

"Desert Sand." Luke echoed "Weren't they the guys that captured you & threw you in a hole?"

"Yup, & I left them on an angry fit for taking their prisoners & slugs." Leo replied as a Hyper Hop Rock exploded near them.

"Let's get rid of these hosers, eh." ColdCut ordered as he pulled out & spun his blaster.

He then grabbed a slug tube with an ice elemental slug. The slug has the body shape of a Slicksliver slug, it's a dark blue from its lower lip down, ice white skin, 2 teeth poking out its lower jaw, it has whale like skin marks, & it has a very friendly face.

"Is that a Whail slug?" Christi asked

"It sure is." ColdCut replied, he loaded the Whail, & fired it at a group of charging raiders.

The Whail's velacimorph is like a humpback whale except circular like, it has the tail, fins, & a large mouth. Its mouth & underbelly is dark blue, as its top is ice white with small icicles poking out.

The Whail smashed into the raiders like a giant ball of hail, knocking them out, & freezing a couple of them on contact. Garo whistled "That's one powerful slug." he commented

"It sure is, eh." ColdCut responded & fired another Whail that smashed into another group of raiders.

Leo turned to his friends. "Well we can't have him have all the fun." he said & fired Revenge at a raider.

Revenge velacimorphed & used his Slugblight on the raider's slugs making them sick, they hopped out of their slug tubes, & ran off before they puked. The raider growled but then was knocked out by a swift punch from Leo. A raider readied to fire at Leo but the raider was knocked away by Quiver's Rammstone. Garo grabbed a couple of raiders & smashed them together. Ashley tied up a pair of raiders by using her Polero. Sydney used her Tazerling to zap others into submission. Luke used his Frightgeist to scare an entire group of them away. & Christi used her Rammstone to defeat attacking slugs. "This is awesome!" ColdCut, Snowflake, & Tundra hollered as they each fired a Frostcrawler freezing several raiders & their mecha-beasts. "Woohoo!" they cheered as the raiders were encased in ice.

But their cheering was cut short when an Armashelt exploded near them. Leo looked to where the slug was fired to see Clark & his raiders standing near the tower. "Clark!" Leo called out "Why are you here?" he demanded

Clark smirked "It's not every day that a giant supply of Frostcrawlers make their way into this desert." he replied "And I couldn't pass up an opportunity to get back at you." he added with a threatening look.

"How did you even know about this carnival & that I would be here?" Leo demanded

"Some kid, with a strange mutated Thugglet, tipped me." Clark replied

"Eclipse." Leo growled & then he avoided Clark's Flaringo.

"You're not leaving with those slugs, eh." ColdCut growled & then he fired an Aquabeek to take down a group of attacking Flaringos & Hop Rocks.

"Fine," Clark said "then I'll leave with the tower too." he fired a Thresher that cut the tower into 2.

When the tower fell to the ground 8 raiders parked their mechas in front of it as Clark & other raiders fired Arachnets that tied the tower to the mechas. The hyena mechas growled & ran forward pulling the tower behind them, like a dog sled, as Clark & 6 other raiders hopped onto the tower. 2 of the raiders were carrying slug barrels full of Lavalynxes. The raiders pulled the tower toward an uphill snow mound. "After those hosers, eh!" ColdCut ordered

They all revved up their mechas & sped off to the runaway tower.

"Switch out those slugs!" Clark ordered his raiders.

The 2 raiders with the slug barrels opened up the top of the tower, pulled out all the barrels with the Frostcrawlers, & inserted their barrels with the Lavalynxes. Just after they set them in place one of the raiders was knocked off the speeding tower by Rocket. Clark turned around to see Leo, ColdCut, & the others chasing after them. "Get back here, eh!" Tundra demanded

"Not a chance." Clark replied as the tower continued up the giant mound.

Clark loaded & fired a Polero but Christi easily avoided the slug.

Snowflake fired a Speedstinger that managed to ratchet around & hit several raiders off their sprinting mechas. Luke fire Typoon who blew away several other slingers as Quiver tied up a pair of raiders with his Lariat. "Clark, we're nearing our destination." a raider told Clark.

"Good get ready to cut the rope." Clark said & the raider nodded.

The Desert Sand & the good hearted slingers continued to sling back & forth until they finally made it to the top of the frozen mound with a deep trench located in the middle of it. The Desert Sand picked up their pace, the mechas jumped over the trench, as the tower was thrown over the trench the raider used a Thresher to cut the webbing, the tower fell forward, & got stuck in the sides of the trench with the turrets pointing downward. "Ha, we got the tower!" Tim cheered

Clark began to laugh. "Like I said before, I don't want to miss an opportunity for some payback." he grinned. "And by the way, this tower fires slugs every hour, right?" Clark asked

"Yes, so what?" Snowflake replied

Clark just grinned wickedly as the bell rang & the Lavalynxes were fired down towards the bottom of the trench.

Before long though the ground shook ferociously making everyone lose their balance & fall to the ground as geysers of water & steam gushed out of the ground. "Who's, it's getting hot here, eh." ColdCut said as he wiped away a bit of sweat.

Leo looked down into the trench. "Everybody back to the plaza!" Leo yelled, he revved up Walker & sped towards the carnival plaza with everyone else close behind.

"Why are we running from those hosers, eh?" ColdCut demanded

"We're not running from them." Leo replied & pointed his thumb back towards the top of the mound.

ColdCut turned his head to see lava gush out of the trench & flow down the mound. "Oh, that's not good, eh." he wined as the Desert Sand raiders laughed on the opposite side of the trench where there was no lava.

Leo & the others continued down the mound they could see everyone at the plaza below, everyone was panicking, & desperately trying to run away in the opposite direction. "We have to do something!" Christi said

"But what?" Leo asked, they then came upon a large flat boulder, big enough to fit all of them & their mechas. "Quick onto that rock!" Leo yelled as Walker reverted into beast mode & hopped onto the giant rock.

The others' mechas went into beast mode & jumped onto the flat boulder just as the lava flowed around the rock completely missing them. "Well looks like this is the end for us, eh." Tundra said "but you still got to make the best of it." he grinned and turned around to show a stick with a hotdog at the end that he had begun to cook. "Hotdog?" he offered to Luke.

"I'm good." Luke denied with a confused expression on his face.

"No this is not over." Leo interrupted "We just need to get back up there & stop the lava flow."

"But how?" Ashley demanded worriedly "We're surrounded by lava."

Leo turned to ColdCut "You guys have tons of Frostcrawlers with you right?" he asked

"Why of course." ColdCut replied proudly.

"Good, we can use every Frostcrawler we have along with any Whail slug to create a big enough blizzard." Leo explained & everyone grinned in agreement as they pulled out their blasters.

ColdCut, Snowflake, & Tundra passed out Frostcrawlers for everyone to use. Leo loaded Slushy as everyone else loaded their Frostcrawlers, & ColdCut & his friends loaded their Whail's. They aimed towards the top of the mound & fired the ice elemental slugs simultaneously. The Frostcrawlers velacimorphed & used their Deepfreeze attack to create a giant snow storm as the Whails zoomed into the clouds & they exploded starting a hail storm within the snow storm. Leo & the others continued to launch Frostcrawler after Frostcrawler & ColdCut & his friends fired Whails at the growing storm until eventually a giant blizzard erupted throughout the area freezing the lava entirely. The blizzard's winds was so cold & strong it froze the Desert Sand raiders in ice except their head & pushed them down the opposite side of the tall mound. Clark & his raiders screamed as they slid down the slope at high speeds.

"We, we did it!" Leo cheered

"Woohoo!" ColdCut & his friends hollered

"We sure did, eh!" Tundra cheered as they got their mechas to the top of the mound, where somehow the barrels of Frostcrawlers managed to stay unharmed & untouched.

ColdCut grinned as Snowflake & Tundra gathered the slug barrels & placed them in their mechas. He then walked over to Leo & his group. "Here take this as a thank you, we want each of you to have one." ColdCut said holding out a Whail to Leo.

"You don't mind us having these slugs?" Leo asked

"I don't mind," ColdCut answered "& besides my uncle's a slug rancher he owns a whole flock of these little guys, eh,"

"Nice." Leo grinned & allowed the Whail to hop into his hand as Snowflake & Tundra passed out Whails to everyone else. "So what should I call you?" Leo asked the Whail. "How about Snowball?" Leo suggested

"Hail, no!" the Whail disagreed & shook his head from side to side.

"Um, Snowman?" Leo suggested.

"Are you serious?" Save questioned, disagreeing to the name.

"Then how about Avalanche?" Leo offered

"I like it." the Whail cheered

After they got acquainted with their new Whail slugs they made their way back to the carnival & the fun began shortly after.

Meanwhile the Desert Sand raiders were stranded in the snow covered desert because their mechas were too frozen to use. Several of the raiders were making a snowman as several others waged a snowball war. "Can we go to the Snow Carnival next year, Clark?" they asked a disappointed and shivering Clark.

Clark just faced palmed himself in frustration as his raiders continued to play around like children.

Back at the carnival, Tim played at a slug target range, where you use a borrowed blaster to shoot out slugs & to win a prize. Ashley was enjoying the ice sculpture exhibits, Garo entered a pie eating contest against Tundra, Quiver was enjoying a hot chocolate, Sydney & Luke entered a team duel, & Leo stood by the main carnival square where a DJ was playing music to the dancing carnival celebrators. "Thanks again for all your help today, eh." ColdCut thanked Leo

"You're welcome. It's what I do." Leo said & looked towards the dance floor to see Christi standing by herself with no dance partner.

ColdCut nudged Leo "Don't be a hoser, eh." he grinned

Leo took a breath & walked over to Christi, leaving a smiling ColdCut behind. Leo stood next to Christi & rubbed the back if his head. "Um," he said, getting Christi's attention. "do you want to...dance with me?" Leo asked nervously & held out his hand for her to take.

Christi just giggled & smiled before taking Leo's hand & leading him onto the frozen dance floor as ColdCut smiled & nodded his head in approval.

Leo & Christi danced for a couple songs, they were having a blast & having tons of fun, until they danced too close to the snack table, Leo slipped on the ice covered floor, & pushed Christi into an utter humiliation...Oh no.

* * *

**Christi's humiliation will be portrayed in the next chapter.**


	36. Chapter 36

Leo'sScrew Ups

Leo & Christi were enjoying themselves when Leo slipped on the ice covered dance floor & he accidentally shoved Christi towards the snack table. Christi hit the table & the punch bowl was flung into the air & drenched Christi with the fruit punch. She placed her hand on the table to pick herself up but the weak table broke in half making Christi fall along with it & all the desserts & junk food dumped onto Christi.

Leo was stunned & shock as this unfolded. Save covered his eyes same as ColdCut.

Christi picked herself up to show all the cake, juice, candy, & other sweets covering her. Leo was about to apologize like there was no tomorrow, but then the entire crowd began to laugh their heads off. Christi looked at Leo with anger, embarrassment, & sadness. "Christi I'm-" but he was cut off when Christi began to sob.

She covered her face, cried, & then ran off onto her mecha & sprinted away. "Wait, Christi!" a guilty Leo called out but was completely overpowered by the laughing. "What did I just do?" Leo asked himself & then he smacked his head.

ColdCut face palmed his head. "Hoser." he muttered as Leo's friends gathered around Leo.

Tim had win himself a giant plush Frostcrawler toy, Quiver was still enjoying the hot chocolate, Sydney & Luke won the team duel, Garo lost the pie eating contest, & Ashely got herself a tiny ice sculpture of a Whail. "You really screwed up this time." Sydney told a guilty & apologetic Leo

Leo just shrugged down before hopping onto Walker, & sprinting off to an embarrassed & upset Christi.

Leo caught up to her easily, thanks to the trail of sweets. "Christi!" he called out to her.

A crying Christi turned her head to see Leo catching up to her. She revved up Skip & sprinted faster away from the apologetic Leo. "Wait, Christi! I'm really sorry! I didn't mean to do that!" he apologized, but Christi didn't even slow down. "Wait!" Leo called out again but he did get an answer from a Christi's Vinedrill that created a giant wall of vines in Leo's path making him stop Walker. "Christi I'm really sorry!" Leo yelled through the vines & watched as Christi rode out of sight. Leo sat back on Walker. "Great job Leo, you really did it this time." he groaned to himself & looked down at the ground in shame & depression.

Save wanted to cheer up his friend but there was nothing he could say or do to help, so he sat on Leo's shoulder silently & depressed.

Leo revved up Walker, set him at a walk, & made it home an hour later. He parked Walker inside the garage where Navy was parked so Leo knew that Sydney & Tim made it home before he did. Leo stepped off Walker & entered the main room of the Hideout where Tim was playing a video game on the TV. Tim smiled & was about to tease Leo, but he stopped himself when he noticed how depressed his brother looked. Leo left for his room, he passed up Sydney but she stayed quite when she noticed Leo's condition, Leo locked himself in his room, & slumped on his bed. Leo's slugs hopped out of their slug tubes & backpack but they were too concerned with their sad friend to do anything. Not even Jokes cracked a smile or tried to pull a prank to cheer Leo up. So all the slugs just hung around in the room in silence & worry.

About 15 minutes later, Eli & Trixie returned from dealing with a Hyper situation over at the Magma Cavern. "We're home!" Eli shouted cheerfully when they entered the house.

"Hey mom, dad." Tim shyly grinned

"Hey guys." Sydney greeted

"How was the Snow Carnival?" Trixie asked

Sydney & Tim told their parents about how they had a snow race, the Desert Sand attack, & they told them about the slug target range & the team duel, leaving Leo's screw up unmentioned. "Sounded like it was very eventful." Eli chimed

"It sure was." Tim responded cheerfully

"So where is Leo?" Trixie asked, Sydney's & Tim's smiles disappeared.

Trixie could tell something was wrong, she made her way towards the stairs, but before she could walk up Sydney stepped in her way. "Leo's napping right now, so I wouldn't go up there." she lied with a nervous grin.

"Ok, now I know something's wrong." Trixie snapped "Because you'd jump at the chance to mess around with Leo."

Sydney sighed "Mom, dad, there was something else that happened at the carnival." Sydney said as Tim frowned with disproval.

Sydney told Eli & Trixie about how Leo asked Christi to dance, but then he slipped & accidentally shoved Christi into a snack table, & she ended up being humiliated, cried, & upset at Leo. "Oh my, poor Leo." Trixie gasped after being told what happened.

"Man I never heard of anyone screwing up so badly." Eli gasped, but then heard Leo groan from his room letting them know that he heard them.

Trixie gave a stern look to her husband. Eli gave a shy grin & shrugged "Sorry." Eli apologized as Burpy face palmed himself. Eli then walked up the stairs & knocked in Leo's door. "Can I come in?" he requested, but got no answer. "Come on it didn't sound that bad." Eli lied

"Dad, I heard what you said earlier." Leo groaned from inside his room.

"Oh, right." Eli said "But can you just let me in so I can help."

Leo opened the door with a giant frown "Ok, but I don't think you can help." he said gloomily as Eli walked inside.

Leo sat back down on his bed & Eli remained standing. Eli sighed "You really feel bad about this, don't you?" he asked & Leo nodded his head, yes. Eli took a seat next to Leo. "If you really feel that bad then go apologize." Eli suggested

"I tried that." Leo said sadly. "And besides I don't think Christi will ever forgive me." Eli began to laugh making Leo feel worse. "Yeah, that's what I thought after I hurt Trixie's feelings." Eli laughed & Leo gave him a surprised & confused look. "Yeah, right before I started dating Trixie we had a duel where I glued her to a runaway mecha with Gooper & then I used a Flatulorinkus slug on her, all when she had it recording live on her camera."

Leo began to laugh until they heard Trixie punch a table from the main living room. "Yeah, she's still sensitive about that incessant." Eli said nervously.

"How did you get her to forgive you?" Leo asked curiously.

"Oh...um, she didn't talk to me for like a month." Eli replied nervously & Leo frowned thinking that Christi may do the same. "But then I got an idea." Eli chimed "I thought of if we could defeat some powerful goons as a team, she may forgive me after she saw how much of a great team we were."

"Did it work?" Leo asked

Eli chuckled "We're together aren't we & besides how do you think Loke & Lowd ended up in Stalagmite 18?" Eli asked with a grin.

Leo chuckled. "So if I can show Christi how much of team we are she'll forgive me?" Leo asked

"You bet." Eli assured & padded Leo on back. "And I got the perfect mission for you two. There's an illegal duel club going on over in Botton & Spinx Cavern." Eli added

"What makes it illegal?" Leo asked

"They're not licensed & there are rumors of a pair of slingers that use Hyper slugs." Eli answered

"I'm in, but how will I get Christi to go with me?" Leo asked

"I'll call her & tell her that I need her to take care of it, but I'm not going to tell that you'll be there so you two will have to work it out yourselves." Eli explained, Leo smiled, & Eli left the room to call Christi.

"Do you really think this is going to work?" Save asked as Leo gathered up his arsenal.

"No, but what else can I do?" Leo replied before leaving his room where his concerned family watched him mount Walker.

"Alright, Christi agreed to go, but she still seems a bit upset." Eli warned as he handed Leo a slip of paper with the duel club's address written on it.

"It's not like this can get any worse." Leo sighed before sprinting out of the garage & riding off to Botton & Spinx Cavern.

He made it there in great time, he walked around looking for the correct address until he spotted Skip parked in front of a large building. Leo took a breath "I hope this works." he sighed & approached.

"Wait!" Save shouted making Leo stop.

"What is it?" Leo demanded

"If this is an illegal duel club then they're probably keeping an eye out for any Shanes or Cavern Security to come by." Save explained

"Good point." Leo said & fired Sorry who disguised him & Save as an Infurnus. "Actually, this works out even better," Leo commented "since Christi's upset with me then she'll be willing to work with someone who's not me, we can go in without anyone telling us otherwise, & then when all is good I'll have Sorry to drop the illusion."

Save, disguised as an Infurnus, and hopped into a slug tube along with Sorry, who disguised herself as a Dirt Urchin. "I really hope this works." Save sighed as Leo approached the entrance where 2 large slingers stood guard.

The guards stepped in Leo's path. "No crybabies allowed." they growled

"What did you say?" Leo growled

"I said beat it kid." the guard replied

Leo was just about to teach the giant guards some manners when a strange man approached them from the building. "What's going on out here?" the man demanded

He seemed to be in his early twenties he has blonde hair, a small goatee, tan skin, & wearing what appears to be some kind of dancing outfit.

"This kid wants to enter, Mr. Ritt." the guards answered & pointed to Leo.

"So let him or is there going to be a repeat about what that girl did to you two earlier?" Ritt snapped

The guards began to quiver "That girl was so mean & that girl's Hexlet's Blambaste attack was too much." they wined, Leo frowned in fear thinking that Christi may do the same to him if she sees past his disguise.

Ritt then padded Leo on the back. "What's your name kid?" he asked

"I'm Leo-I mean Neo." he corrected "My name's Neo."

"Cool now come inside before we get some unwanted attention." he grinned & led Neo/Leo inside.

Ritt took Leo to a large arena area where 2 pairs of slingers were dueling it out against each other. "This is so cool." Leo chimed as he watched the slingers fire Armashelts at each other.

"It sure is." Ritt commented "So are you here to duel or are you here to watch?"

"Duel." Leo grinned

"Ok, but you're going to have to find a partner." Ritt said

"A partner?" Leo asked

"Yes, all the matches here have to be team battles so everyone can get get a duel in." Ritt clarified

"Oh, well don't worry I'll find a partner." Leo replied

"Good, now I've got to get going before the main events starts." Ritt said, Leo was about to ask him what was the main event, but Ritt had already walked away.

"I guess we should go find Christi." Leo muttered to his slugs & walked off to find his upset friend.

Leo walked around the building, watching the team duels, & avoid being pushed around by the cheering & roaring crowd. Leo walked around for 15 minutes until he bumped into a blonde hairs girl with a Hexlet on her shoulder. "Hey watch it!" Christi scolded

"Sorry, about that." Leo apologized

Christi examined him. "You look familiar. Have we met before?" Christi demanded

"I don't think so." Leo replied, he was about to ask her name just so he can stay on character but then someone spoke through the intercoms.

"Attention, attention everyone." the voice said "The main event will be starting very shortly."

"What is the main event?" Leo asked

"It's when the owners of this duel club face off against another pair of challengers." Christi answered before she headed off towards the main arena leaving Leo behind.

Leo followed & stood by Christi as an announcer stepped into the arena. "Let me introduce to you all our hosts & the tag team slingers Left & Ritt!" the announcer declared & pointed to a grinning & waving Ritt who was standing next to a woman who also appeared to be in her early twenties.

Left has wavy brown hair, white skin, & wearing a dance suit similar to Ritt's.

"Now who will be their challengers?" the announcer asked

Christi didn't hesitate to jump onto the arena. "I, Christi Charm, will be your challenger." Christi declared

"Sorry sweetie, but you need a partner." Left said

Leo then stepped into the stage. "I, Neo, will be her partner." he declared

"Neo?" Christi echoed

"Yeah, listen you better not hold me back." Leo told Christi

Christi smiled "I was about to tell you the same thing." she grinned & pulled out her blaster.

"Ok this duel will be between the team of Left & Ritt against the team of Christi & Neo!" the announcer shouted he stepped to the side, pulled out his blaster, & fired his Phosphoro to signal the slingers to start.

Christi & Leo/Neo fired their Hop Rocks but Left & Ritt spun to the sides, avoiding the slugs, & then they spun back towards each other before posing & firing a pair of Hyper Armashelts. Leo & Christi ducked down to avoid the slugs except they turned around & smashed into them from behind. "Well that hurt." Leo groaned & rolled to the side to avoid a Hyper Jellyish.

"Quite talking & keep slinging!" Christi ordered as she fired her Rammstone to fend off an attacking Hyper Strang slug.

Her Rammstone missed the Hyper Strang, the slug spun & danced in the air, before hitting Leo & Christi repeatedly. Leo growled & fired Warden who caught the Strang in his frills. "Nice shot, Neo." Christi complemented, she then shot down an attacking Hyper Arachnet.

"Same goes to you." Leo grinned & fired Dumpster at the dancing slingers.

Ritt picked up Left & gracefully jumped away from the Flatulorinkus avoiding it completely. Ritt spun around & lowered Left as she was lowered she fired a Hyper Vinedrill at Christi. Leo quickly reacted & fired Magma who knocked the Hyper slug away. "Thanks." Christi thanked

"No problem." Leo replied & fired Ghost at their opponents.

Left & Ritt bent backwards, avoiding the attacking Frightgeist, & then they both fired Hyper Frostcrawlers. That froze the entire arena floor making it slippery & cold. Christi growled & fired a Flaringo but it was easily avoided when Left & Ritt smoothly skated out of the way & fired a pair of Hyper Rammstones. Christi slide to the side & avoided the Hyper slugs, but Leo slipped on the ice, fell, & was clobbered by the powerful Hyper slugs & he crashed into the wall. He hit his head hard & as he crashed Sorry hit her head against the side of the slug tube & became unconscious because of the hard hit, & Leo's disguised dispersed. The crowd gasped as Christi stood there in shock & then her expression turned angry. "What are you doing here?!" she demanded

"Ok, Christi I can explain." Leo shrugged

But before they could say anything else a pair of Hyper Hoverbugs snatched them up, they flew them out of the building, & threw them into the street. "Come back when you two work out your problems." Ritt smirked from the entrance before Left shut the doors.

Christi picked herself up & growled "I don't believe this." she growled & then she faced Leo. "You set this up, didn't you?" she demanded

"No I didn't, & Christi I'm really sorry I didn't mean to embarrass you like that." Leo apologized

"Oh, so the best way to say you're sorry is by lying about a mission, disguising yourself, & then humiliate me in public again!" Christi scolded

"I didn't mean for us to lose the match." Leo defended

"Like you didn't mean to shove me into a snack bar?!" Christi screamed

"Christi, please, I'm really sorry."

"You can apologize all you want, but I'm not going to listen to you." Christi said, crossing her arms.

"But...but." Leo tried to protest but he couldn't think of anything.

"What you have nothing to say now?!" Christi demanded "Maybe you should go back to the Shadow Clan, you were probably better off with them anyway." she said grimly.

Leo had had it at that point. "You know what maybe I will!" he yelled with rage.

"Good now get going." Christi snapped

"I will, so I can get away from the giant problem in front of me!"

"Yeah, & I want this skinny cyclops out of my hair!"

"And this skinny cyclops doesn't want to be near a sensitive 2 legged Frightgeist."

"And I don't want to be near a freak like you!"

"Well this freak wishes he never met someone like you, I mean who wants to be friends with an embarrassing & pathetic fool like you?!" Leo yelled but then his anger subsided into guilt when he finally noticed tears in Christi's eyes. "Wait, I didn't mean that." he said apologetically, but Christi just cried & ran off to her mecha & sprinted away.

Leo fell to his knees in guilt & shame "What have I done?" he asked himself gloomily.

Leo stayed like that for about 5 minutes before Save convinced him to leave. Leo's eyes were tearing up but he mounted Walker & slowly made his way home in a depressed state.

Leo made it home an hour later. "So did it work?" Eli asked, but he didn't need an answer from Leo's depressed expression. "Are you ok?" he asked

Leo didn't even glance at him instead he just went straight to his room & collapsed on his bed, not even bothering to shut the door. Save & the other slugs hopped into the living room to give Leo some space. "What can we do for him?" Trip asked

"I don't think there's anything we can do." Save answered sadly.

"There has to be something." Sorry said

"But what?" Save asked gloomily

"What if?" Prize muttered

"What was that?" Dumpster asked Prize

"What if we give Leo & Christi another reason for getting back together?" Prize replied

"What do you mean?" Save asked

"If we give Leo & Christi a common goal & something to work for they'll have to work together." Prize explained

"And maybe they'll forgive each other." Sorry suggested

"That could work." Save chirped happily.

"But what will the common goal be?" Trip asked

Prize just grinned & looked at Flight. "We need you to go get a friend of ours." he said & then he looked at Save with a wicked grin.

About 30 minutes later, Eli burst into Leo's room. "Leo have you seen this?!" he asked & held out a slip of paper to Leo.

Leo sat up & read the paper.

* * *

Dear, Leonardo Shane

We have your Pulter slug & your friend's Hexlet slug if you want them back you must go to the duel club & win them back.

From,

Left & Ritt

"How did they take Save & Jinx?!" Leo demanded & stood up.

"Don't know, so what are you going to do?" Eli asked

"I have to go save them." Leo replied & gathered his remaining slugs.

"Will you get Christi?" Eli asked

"Maybe, I...I can surprise her by getting Jinx back for her." Leo replied & left for the garage.

"Good luck." Eli smirked as Prize's plan unfolded & Leo rode back to Botton & Spinx Cavern.

Leo got there on record time determined to get the slugs back & to get Christi to forgive him. He marched straight up to the guards. "That's far enough kid." they growled but Leo easily pushed them aside & marched inside.

He walked right into the arena as 2 other teams were competing. "Get out of way, kid." a slinger ordered

Leo just fired Return who knocked the 4 slingers out of the arena before returning to Leo.

"Well, well, well look at who's back for an encore." Ritt smirked when he & Left noticed Leo.

"I, Leonardo Shane, challenge you both to a duel!" Leo declared "If I win you give me back the slugs you took!"

Left & Ritt laughed as they held up caped slug tubes with Save & Jinx inside. "But our rules here are that you must have a partner." Left said

Leo was about to protest when a voice spoke out. "I'll be his partner!" Christi shouted & stepped onto the arena.

"What?!" Leo asked in surprise.

"I still haven't forgiven you." Christi told Leo

"Then why are you here?" Leo asked, but Christi just handed him a slip of paper that read.

* * *

Dear, Christi Charm

We have your Hexlet slug & your friend's Pulter slug if you want them back you must go to the duel club & win them back.

From,

Left & Ritt

* * *

"So you're just here to save Jinx." Leo said gloomily realizing that he had failed to surprise Christi with a rescued Jinx.

"Well, I know how much Save means to you too so I couldn't just leave him either." Christi answered & Leo looked at her in surprise. "But I still haven't forgiven you."

"That's fine," Leo said sadly "lets just get our slugs back." he said as Left & Ritt danced onto the arena.

"If we win we get the rest of your slugs." Left said

"Deal." Christi & Leo replied as the announcer loaded a Phosphoro & fired it into the air.

Left & Ritt spun around before firing a pair of Hyper Aquabeeks. Leo fired Prize to create a crystal wall, blocking the attacking Hyper slugs. Christi leaped away from the crystals & fired her Frostcrawler, but it was pushed aside by Left's Hyper Sand Angler. Leo fired Goop but Ritt fired a Hyper Tazerling that pushed aside the slug & nearly zapped Leo. "I can't even get a shot in." Leo muttered

"We have to do something or we'll never win." Christi said after she dive behind the crystal wall.

"I'll provide a distraction while you slug them." Leo said & Christi nodded.

Leo loaded Star & dove away from the wall & launched the slug at the dancing slingers. Left & Ritt fired a pair of Hyper Arachnets that defeated Star, but Christi had fired her Armashelt that smashed into the slingers knocking them backwards. "Yeah!" Leo cheered & then fired Smasher who punched Ritt as Christi's Hop Rock hit Left.

"We got them now!" Leo cheered & fired Slips who Ritt stepped up & fell.

Left helped Ritt up & they fired a pair of Hyper Poleros. The slugs tangled around Leo & Christi tiring them together. "Aw, how cute." Left teased as the teens tried to free themselves.

Left & Ritt fired their Hyper Frostcrawlers which used their Icefloor moves on the arena. They then fired Hyper Armashelts at the struggling teens. Leo purposely fell down so they could avoid the Hyper slugs & then they were finally free from the Hyper Poleros. Leo & Christi smiled with relief but then Ritt fired a Hyper Hop Rock at Leo. Christi fired her Bubbaleone who used its belly to bounce the slug back at Ritt nearly hitting him. "Thanks for the save." Leo thanked

"Don't mention it." Christi said & fired her Whail slug that nearly smashed into Left.

Leo ran & slid on the ice, he slid behind Left & Ritt & fired Trip at them. Trip _tripped_ them & Christi fired her Tazerling who zapped them into submission. "Ok, ok we give up!" Left & Ritt surrendered & held out their captive slugs.

Leo snatched them up & handed Jinx over to Christi who was over thrilled to have her friend back. "Glad to see you guys safe & sound." Leo said to them "How did they even get you guys?"

"Um, they knocked us out." Save lied

Just then Eli appeared & arrested Left & Ritt. "Dad what are you doing here?" Leo asked as the crowd dispersed & ran off.

"Remember our original mission was to shut this place down." Eli replied & he led the arrested slingers outside leaving Leo & Christi behind.

"Hey Leo." Christi called & Leo faced her. "I'm...I'm really sorry I snapped at you earlier I knew you didn't mean to humiliate me."

"I'm sorry for humiliating & for what I said earlier." Leo apologized

"But that was really my fault, I was the one that snapped at you first." Christi said

"Yeah, but I'm the one that made you cry." Leo said depressingly.

"That was just me overreacting, that's all." Christi insisted but Leo still felt terrible & guilty. She grinned with a mischievous idea. "I know what will make you feel better." she said before leaning in & gave a little kiss on Leo's cheek.

Leo turned red & so surprised that he stepped back, slipped, & fell to the frozen arena floor & his blush turned even redder as Christi laughed at his clumsiness.

Meanwhile, Eli led the 2 slingers out of the building & into a nearby alley. "Thanks for the help you two." Eli thanked them & untied them.

"Oh it was no problem at all." Ritt said

"Here's a Hyper Cure machine." Eli said & handed them the machine.

"Thank goodness, I got tired of using these mean little Hyper slugs." Left said & placed her slugs into the machine.

"Same, & that was genius to have us use their slugs as motivation." Ritt grinned

"Oh, that wasn't my idea." Eli said & explained how Prize told him about his plan & he convinced Flight into getting Jinx for them, & then Eli delivered the slugs to Left & Ritt himself.

"Well whoever thought it up it was brilliant." Ritt praised

"Do you think those 2 love birds will figure out that this was a set up?" Left asked

"They will eventually," Eli replied "thanks again for all your help."

"No problem." Left & Ritt replied before leaving on their mechas.

Eli grinned & found Christi & a red faced Leo waiting for him in front of the building. "Where's Left & Ritt?" they asked

"They're with Cavern Security." Eli replied as he mounted Lucky. "Are you guys coming?" he asked Leo & Chtisti.

"Um, maybe after we get some smoothies." Leo offered to Christi

Christi smiled & they left for their mechas & rode off leaving a smug faced Eli to be proud of his and Prize's brilliant plan.


	37. Chapter 37

An Expedition

"So how was your date?" Sydney teased when Leo returned home after getting smoothies with Christi.

"It wasn't a date." Leo growled "I was just hanging out with a friend, you know to say we're sorry."

"I bet you two kissed!" Tim teased

"No we didn't!" Leo yelled, but Save made kissing noises, reminding Leo of what happened at the duel club & making him blush.

"I knew it!" Tim cheered when he noticed Leo's face turn red. "Leo & Christi sitting in a tree K, I, S, S, I & G!" Tim teased making Leo fume with rage.

"We are not a couple!" he shouted

"Yeah right." Sydney teased

Leo growled & marched off towards his room as his siblings & slugs laughed at his expense. Eli, who did not hear the argument, entered the room. "Hey Leo, how was your date?" he asked curiously.

Leo growled & fumed with frustration as his siblings laughed even louder. Leo shoved past his oblivious father & marched off into his room. Eli looked to Sydney & Tim with a confused expression. "Did I say something wrong?" he asked, but Sydney & Tim just continued to laugh.

"You know sometimes I wish I was an only child." Leo muttered after he entered his room.

"You can always go back to the Shadow Clan." Save suggested

"At least they respected me." Leo responded before calling it a night.

"Morning everyone." Trixie greeted the next morning.

"Morning." Eli & Tim replied, except for Sydney, who had left early that morning, & Leo who was still fast asleep.

Trixie walked over to Leo's room & knocked on the door. "Time to get up." she ordered

Leo rubbed his eyes & he sat up in bed showing his terrible bed head & sleepy expression. He yawned & stretched before getting dressed & getting ready for the day.

"Morning." Trixie greeted when Leo exited his room.

"Morning." Leo yawned

"Are you ready to start the day?" Eli asked as Leo poured himself a bowl of cereal.

"I guess so." Leo answered before having a spoonful of cereal.

"Good because I got a special mission for us today." Eli grinned & passed a slip of paper to Leo.

Leo read the paper it appeared to be a flyer for a Hyper expedition. "An expedition for what?" Leo demanded curiously.

"That's what we're going to find out." Eli answered & Leo grinned revealing that he was ready to start the day.

As Leo finished his breakfast Eli called up the other Shane Strikers & John Jones (A.K.A Twist) to help them out.

"So what's the plan?" Garo asked when he & everyone else arrived to the Hideout.

"We need to attend the Hyper expedition meeting to find out what's it about." Eli replied

"But if it's a Hyper expedition, how are we going to attend it without being sluged?" Quiver questioned

"By using these little guys." John answered, holding out Loki as Leo held out Sorry.

"That's right we'll go in disguise, find out what this expedition is all about, & work from there." Eli said

"So when do we leave?" Leo asked

"Now." Eli replied

They all picked up their slugs, made sure their blasters are working, & mounted their mechas. John's mecha is actually the dilaphasourous mecha he found back when he helped Leo escape Fungus. Kord fixed & cleaned it up for him. It's completely dark green, has orange linings, has orange & green frills, black claws, & its orange label reads H-NTR or Hunter. Once they were set they left for the meeting at the Monarch Inn, home of some of the best root beer floats around. According to Kord.

Once they were set they left for the meeting. When they arrived Leo & John fired their Thugglets to disguise them all before entering the Monarch Inn. The entire place was full of both regular slingers & Hyper slingers, nobody paid the disguised slingers any attention as Garo ordered some root beers & everybody else took a seat around a vacant table. They sat around for about 5 minutes before a scrawny old man appeared onto a small wooden stage. He has pale skin, & wearing an old worn out explores cloths. "Hello everyone!" the old man greeted

"My name is Gar Rivelle." he announced "I've been hired by the Hector Brink to guide an expedition" he then went on about his life's dreams & such.

"Why would they hire him?" Eli asked as Gar spoke on.

"What are you talking about?" Leo asked

"Gar's a failure of an explorer he has never completed or had a successful exploration." Eli replied "Not to mention he has a grudge against me."

"Why, what did you do?" Leo asked curiously

"That's not important." Eli lied & Leo didn't ask him anymore questions.

Gar continued his speech "This expedition will be to an unnamed & unmarked Cavern." he continued "You see about a week ago a Hyper mining operation discovered a secret tunnel, & so they asked for me to lead the way."

"A Hyper mining operation?" Leo questioned

"A secret tunnel?" Christi asked

"An unnamed Cavern?" Garo asked

"They want how much for a burger?!" Quiver demanded as he read the menu & everyone gave him a confused expression.

Gar continued "If any of you are interested please write your name on this sheet, then start packing for the trip, we meet back here tomorrow at 8am, & then we make history!" he cheered

Some of the slingers & Hyper slingers lined up to sign the sheet as the rest left.

"So what should we do?" Leo asked "Should we just end this now?"

Eli pondered on the thought. "Let's sign up, with fake names, & then join the expedition." he replied

"But wouldn't it be easier to stop them & then look for the Cavern ourselves?" Quiver asked

"But we don't know how to get there & if Hyper knows that we know about this expedition then they'll do anything to stop us & we'll never get the chance." Eli explained before getting up & joining the line.

Everyone else got up & joined him, they signed the sheet with fake names, & then left for their homes to pack.

"What should I take?" Leo asked when he & Eli arrived home.

"Take some rope, a sleeping bag, extra clothes, food, a flash light, & a bunch of slug tubes incase this goes wrong." Eli answered as they walked in & left for their rooms to pack up.

Leo entered his room, picked up a small duffle bag, & began packing as his slugs scattered around the room. "I'm so excited!" Trip cheered

"For what?" Basher demanded

"We get to go exploring!" he answered happily.

"Really, all I'm looking forward to is when they get their cover blown & then we slug it out." Basher responded with a grin.

"But either it way it will be fun!" Mo, Eli's Enigmo, cheered when he entered the room.

"What are you doing here?" Save asked

"I wanted to hang out." Mo replied before losing his balance & falling face first onto the floor.

"Right." Basher said as Mo picked himself up.

As the slugs played & goofed off Leo packed up anything he needed, especially slug tubes. Once he was set he played video games with Tim, dueled Sydney when she returned home, & he did some maintenance on his blaster just so he could use up his day before calling it in early so he could be awake for the exploration.

Leo got up early the next morning, he got dressed, combed his hair, brushed his teeth, ate a full breakfast, & made sure he had what he needed & that his slugs were ready to go too. Once Eli had woken up & made sure he had everything he called up everyone else to make sure they were ready before leaving for the Monarch Inn.

They all arrived at 7:50am so they had enough time to sit down & wait for the other slingers to arrive. Gar eventually came over to them. "Hello there." he greeted "Can I have your names so I can make sure you're supposed to be here?" he requested

"Sure." Eli replied "I'm Will Shadow." he lied

"I'm Neo Shadow." Leo lied

"I'm assuming you're father & son, yes?" Gar asked curiously.

"Yes, we are." Eli & Leo replied before Gar asked everyone else for their names.

They gave him the fake names they wrote down yesterday. Once Gar had them all checked in he thanked them & walked over to another slinger to ask for his name.

Everyone chatted for a few more minutes before Gar spoke up from the small stage. "Ok everyone, it's time to make history." he announced & all the slingers cheered, except for the Shane group.

They all left the building, mounted their mechas, & followed Gar to the secret tunnel. They went through several caverns & in about an hour they had arrived to the Hyper mobbing operation. It wasn't the one Leo destroyed, in fact this one was bigger & had even more Hyper slingers crawling around & staying on guard. They rode their mechas into the mine & Gar led them through it, the Shane group examined the mine as they passed through noticing all the yellow crystals Hyper was gathering. After about 5 minutes they had reached the tunnel where rocks surrounded the sides of the cave wall. Leo could infer that Hyper probably drilled into it on accident or they used a Hyper slug to move the rocks.

Gar stood on top of his mecha. "Ok everyone from this point on we walk." he announced & everyone parked & dismounted their mechas.

When no one was looking the Shane group hide their mechas behind a mound of fallen boulders incase their cover was blown then at least no one could take their mechas.

Once everyone had gathered at the entrance Gar thanked them all for coming before he led the way inside. The tunnel was nothing special it was winding but there were no split paths or obstacles only plants & stalagmites poking off the cave walls. They walked for a long time, they stopped for a quick lunch, & continued.

"This is actually kind of boring." Leo said to his friends.

"Yeah it is." Garo responded

Leo then walked to the front of the group where Gar was. "Excuse me, Mr. Rivelle can I ask you a question?" Leo requested

"Why of course you can." Gar grinned

"Don't take this the wrong way, but why did Hyper hire you for this?" Leo asked politely.

"Well you see ever since my last attempt at my last expedition was synch a failure, I've been desperate for a second chance, & so they gave me that chance." Gar explained

"Why was your last expedition attempt a failure?" Leo asked curiously.

"Have you ever heard of the Burning World?" Gar asked

"Yeah, my parents used to tell me about it when I was little." Leo replied "They told me that it's above us, they have a giant ball of light, a thing called a moon, the magic, & that no slugs are there." Leo said truthfully, because Eli & Trixie actually had never told Leo or his siblings the truth about the Burning World/the Surface.

"Yes, well you see I had a very special journey that held the answer to get up there."

"Really?" Leo asked excitedly.

"Yes, but unfortunately that meddling Eli Shane interfered & used that darn Infurnace of his to torch the book & crush my dream."

"Really?" asked Leo who was surprised that his father had never told him about this incident.

"Yes, but let's not worry about the past, we're making history." Gar walked forward leaving Leo to wonder why Eli would have prevented an exploration to the Burning World.

About 30 minutes later Gar ordered for everyone to set up camp for the night. The disguised Shane group set up a fire far away from everyone else & circled their sleeping bags around it. They chatted for a bit, Christi told everyone about how Leo embraced her & how they had eventually forgiven each other, she left out the part where she kissed Leo's cheek, because she noticed Leo's face blushing & getting more nervous & embarrassed as she told through the story.

Eli shared a couple stories like how he & John used to be rivals. Eli shared other stories like his first tournament, how he entered the Slug Run, how he was taught by Mario Bravado, his adventure in the Deep Caverns, & how he discovered megamorphing. Leo wondered if he should ask his dad about what Gar told him earlier that day, but he held it back knowing that his dad has his reasons for doing things, instead he decided to wait until him & Eli could talk amongst themselves.

Leo waited for everybody else to fall asleep & he waited for Eli's turn to be on watch, luckily it was the second shift so he was only up for an hour waiting. Eli had seated himself on a boulder & looked around for danger. Leo got up & walked over to him. "Hey dad." he greeted

"Hey, Leo." Eli grinned "Shouldn't you be asleep?"

"Yes, but I was kind of hopping to talk to you." Leo replied

"Well what do you want to talk about?"

"I talked to Gar earlier today & he told me you destroyed a book that could have led him to the Burning World."

"Leo, let's be serious the Burning World doesn't exist."

"But then why did you destroy the journal?"

"It had secrets about Slugterra." Eli snapped

"Like what?"

"It doesn't matter, go back to sleep."

"But why didn't you just take the book & keep it or hide it?"

Eli sighed. "Leo, things are kept a secret for a reason & sometimes knowledge is a burden not a privilege."

Leo understood that whatever was in that journal it couldn't have been good. "Ok, sorry for disturbing your watch." Leo apologized & left to get some sleep leaving Eli.

"Are you sure it was for the best?" Burpy asked Eli

"Yes, it's the best thing to do." Eli answered "Because if no one else knows about the Surface then we don't have to worry about someone revealing the secret."

"But he's your own son." Burpy said

"But remember how Dr. Blakk was after the Surface too?" Eli asked "What if someone else is after the same thing? And since none of my kids know about it, then that makes them more protected from being interrogated or worse just so someone can get information from them."

"Ok," Burpy chirped "but what happens if Leo does find out?"

"Then I hope he understands why I did it." Eli replied

Burpy yawned, hopped into a slug tube, & fell asleep as Eli continued his watch.

Gar woke everybody up early the next morning. Everyone ate breakfast, packed up their things, & set off down the long tunnel. They hiked until noon when they came upon 3 tunnel entrances one on the left, on the right, & one in the middle. Gar decided they should have a lunch break before they continued. "How much longer do you think there is?" Quiver asked before taking a bite out of his sandwich.

"Don't know," Leo replied "but we have to be ready for anything."

Gar then jumped onto a boulder & announced that he was going to scout ahead & he'll be right back in 30 minutes. He left for the middle tunnel, he walked for 5 minutes before slipping on a slippery rock. He picked himself up & a voice rang out. "You should really be more careful." Eclipse's voice said

"Who said that?" Gar demanded

"Do you know who's part of your expedition?" Eclipse's voice asked

"Why should I care?" Gar demanded

"Because the man who ruined your last expedition is here."

"No he's not!"

"Yes, he is. He's hiding in the 'Shadows'."

"Shadows?" Gar echoed, he then realized the truth & sprinted back through the tunnel.

A smirking Eclipse poked his head out from the side of the wall & he disappeared in a black & red portal.

Gar made it back in record time. "The Shane is here! Eli Shane is here!" Gar shouted

Everyone looked around & pulled out their blasters & demanded where he was.

"Where is he?!" Eli demanded trying to stay in character.

"Funny you should ask." Gar growled, he quickly pulled out his blaster, & fired a Hyper Rammstone that knocked Eli into the side of the cave's wall & his disguise disappeared.

"Dad!" Leo shouted in shock.

He pulled out his blaster, but before he could load a signal slug Gar blasted him with a Hyper Hop Rock. Leo was sent falling to the ground & his illusion disappeared.

"I will not let a Shane destroy my chances at fame!" Gar declared but before he could do anything else he was knocked into a boulder by Christi's Armashelt.

Loki's & Sorry's illusions disappeared & the Shane group open fired on the surprised slingers. Quiver used his Flatulorinkus it made several slingers gag for air before passing out & Garo fired his Arachnet that tied up several others as John & Christi helped the Shanes back onto their feet.

Several of the slinger fired a barrage of slugs & Hyper slugs at them. Leo quickly loaded & fired Warden as Eli fired a megamorphed Buzzsaw. Warden caught several of the attacking slugs in his expanded frills as Buzzsaw cut down the rest. 3 slingers each fired Lavalynxes but they were taken down by John's Aquabeek & Garo's Frostcrawler. Quiver avoided a Grenuke & then fired his own at the attacking slingers. The slingers shot the Grenuke down & continued to fire slug after slug at the good hearted slingers. "There's too many of them!" Christi announced after she took cover behind a boulder.

"Everybody split up!" Eli ordered & he ran into the left tunnel followed by Garo.

Christi & John ran into the middle tunnel as Quiver & Leo ran into the right one. "Hurry, split up & find them!" Gar ordered when he got back on his feet.

Each of the slingers entered one of the 3 tunnels & Gar chose to go through the right tunnel, thinking that if he could use Eli's own son as a hostage than he can be free to explore & get the fame he so desperately wants.

Eli & Garo ran through the tunnel with slingers chasing & slinging at them. Eli quickly turned around & fired his Geoshard in megamorph. The slug blocked the entire tunnel with its green crystals. Eli & Garo grinned but then a Hyper Grenuke blew up the wall. Garo & Eli quickly fired their Rammstones who punched the slingers away. "Let's keep going!" Eli ordered before running down the tunnel with Garo at his side.

When they thought that they were at a good enough distance Garo fired CaveIn who caused a small 'cave in' to create a wall of rocks behind them. "That should stop them." Eli said as he spun his blaster & placed it back on his belt.

"I sure hope so." Garo said before they continued down the tunnel.

Meanwhile, Christi & John ran through their tunnel avoiding velacimorphed slugs & evaded the upcoming rocks & stalagmites. The slingers each fired a Grenuke, the slugs exploded behind the running slingers, making them fall to the ground. As they tried to pick themselves up the slingers surrounded them, aimed their blasters, & laughed at their victory. John & Christi just smirked before red dust puffed around them & Loki laughed at the gullible slingers. Before the slingers could react they were tied up by Christi's Arachnet. "Illusions are fun." Christi commented when they stepped away from the boulder they were hiding behind & John picked up Loki & thanked him for his incredible job.

During that time, the slingers & Gar ran through the tunnel & dispersed out of sight when they turned the corner. "I think they're gone." Quiver whispered as he held on to Leo's back who was hanging on the ceiling of the tunnel, like the Shadow Clan.

Leo hopped down & Quiver got off his back. "Where too now?" Quiver asked

"I guess forward, but let's have our guard up." Leo replied he loaded Avalanche & they crept their way down the tunnel.

Leo peered around the corner that Gar & the slingers disappeared from, no one was there. "It's all clear." Leo said & they walked down the tunnel but Gar & the slingers hopped out. Leo fired Avalanche & he smashed into a couple of them, but then Leo was caught & raised in a net of webbing.

"That one eye needs to be looked at Shadow." Gar jeered when he stepped into view along with the other slingers. "Ops, I mean Shane."

"Let us go Gar." Leo ordered

"Why?" Gar demanded "So you can screw up my chances at fame, like your father?"

"Um, yeah." Leo snapped

"That won't be happening!" Gar yelled "I will not be a failure again. I will not go down in the history books as a nobody, & I will not be stopped by a Shane!" he declared, but then a megamorph Burpy flew by, knocked the slingers away, & them blasted flames at Gar sending him crashing into the tunnel's wall & passing out because of the hard hit.

"So much for not being stopped by a Shane." Eli sassed as him & Garo appeared from a tunnel that entered into the one Leo & Quiver were traveling through.

"What we miss?" Christi & John asked when they appeared behind them.

"Not much." Quiver replied from inside the net.

"Can someone get us down?" Leo requested

John grinned & fired a Thresher to cut the webbing making Leo & Quiver fall to the ground below. "Ow," Leo groaned "you could have given us a softer landing."

"Hey you wanted to get down." John sassed

"So what do we do now?" Garo asked

"We are in an expedition," Eli began "we might as well finish it."

They all agreed & continued through the tunnel leaving the unconscious & defeated slingers & Gar behind. They traveled for 30 minutes before they spotted a bright light at the end of the tunnel. "I think that's the exit." John said as he squinted at the light.

"Race you guys there!" Leo declared & sprinted forward.

"No fair!" Christi grinned & chased after Leo.

"You had a head start!" Garo complained as he sprinted forward & Quiver tried to keep up but he soon ran out of breath.

Leo sprinted towards the bright light & when he passed through it he stopped dead in his trace & awed at the miracles sight. Everyone else joined him shortly after & they awed at the sight as well. "Wow, I mean wow." John awed

"Yeah." was all Leo could say as he awed at the incredible cavern & the slugs that inhabit it. "Are those Enigmos?" Leo asked as he stared at the millions of Enigmos that flooded the cavern from the plants, to the lake, to the ceiling, to the ground, & to the strange white energy crystals nothing but Enigmos enjoying their lives & being care free. "I'm home!" Mo cheered when he hopped out of Eli's backpack.

"Wait, you knew about this place?" asked a surprised Burpy

"Of course I did, silly." Mo replied

"But why didn't you tell any of us that you were from here or that there were other Enigmos?"

"Nobody ever asked." Mo answered, but then he lost his balance & fell to the ground with a grin.

"But we thought that you were the last of your kind."

"Really?" Mo asked as he rolled onto his back & picked himself up. "Oh, so that's why Eli & Stalker were so serious about getting me when we first met. I always thought that they were playing a game."

Burpy shook his head in disbelief as Mo enjoyed the company of some fellow Enigmos when they curiously approached the group of slingers. "Let's each get one." Leo said

"Yeah!" agreed his friends

"Stop!" Eli ordered before they could do anything. "No one is getting an Enigmo."

"What, but why?" they demanded

"Think about it." Eli replied "If people found out about this place then they'll come here, & gather any Enigmo they can get their greedy hands on, & look at these crystals, notice anything about them?"

Leo peered at a nearby crystal. "They're vitalis crystals!" he announced

"That's right so not only will this place be cleared of slugs but it will be destroyed by a mining company." Eli explained "That is why we shouldn't take anything from here."

"Not even a vitalis crystal?" Leo asked disappointedly.

"Not even a vitalis crystal." Eli answered & Leo frowned at him.

"Come on let's have a look around." Quiver suggested & they spread around the cavern.

Leo stayed put & he picked up a vitalis crystals. "Your dad said no vitalis crystals." Save reminded

"I know, but don't you want to be used in a Fusion Shot?" Leo asked "I bet it would be really awesome." he insisted

Save pondered on the idea before saying. "Ok, but when your dad finds out I had no part on this." he stated

"Fine." Leo grinned

Leo put down his duffle bag, which he did not put down back at the lunch break, he reached inside, & searched it for something that he could hide the crystal in. He found an opened potato chip bag that he had used earlier for lunch. He placed the crystal inside just before Christi called him over. He put the bag down by his duffle bag then he ran off towards his friends. As he ran off a curious little slug approached the chip bag & crawled inside.

"What is it?" Leo asked when he joined them.

"We're deciding on a name for this cavern." Garo replied

"I'm in, how about Aura Crystal Cavern?" Leo suggested "Because Enigmos make you see auras & there's a lot of vitalis crystals here."

"I like it." Quiver grinned

"As do I." John smiled

"Me too." Garo said

"So it's settled?" Christi asked

"Yes, this is Aura Crystal Cavern." Eli declared & everyone cheered even some of the Enigmos clapped & cheered.

After that they mapped the cavern & then they all decided to leave. Leo picked up the chip bag, not noticing how much heavier it had gotten, & he placed inside his duffle bag before they left back through the tunnel as Mo waved goodbye to his fellow species.

They passed up where they had defeated Gar but he was gone so they figured that he had ran off to avoid getting his butt kicked again. They continued to where they had had their lunch break earlier so they could gather up their things. Once they has their stuff Eli used a little device to get their mechas to come to them. They continued through the tunnel for 2 hours before their speeding mechas had reached them. They got on them & rode off to the mine. When they got there they were expecting a fight but instead the place had been emptied out of yellow crystals & of Hyper slingers. "Where is everybody?" Quiver asked

"They probably found out we were here," Leo replied "so they took off before we could do anything to stop them."

"Let's go in case they change their minds." John suggested & they continued through to mine.

Once they were out Eli called Cavern Security over to help search the mine for Hyper goons. As they waited for them to show up they decided to sit back & relax. Leo sat in Walker & he searched his bag for some food. He came upon the chip bag from before, he pulled it out, & was about to reach in for a chip when he noticed something else. "Look at what I have here." Leo announced as he reached inside the bag.

Everyone looked at him as he pulled out his hand & held out an Enigmo slug who happened to be chewing on a potato chip. "It's so cute." Christi complimented as the little slug continued riches the chip, completely oblivious if where or who it was with.

"I told you not to take anything." Eli scolded

"I know, but this little guy snuck off & ended up here," Leo defended, "& besides it's too late to head back & return it." he raised the slug up to his face. "How would you like to join my team of friends." he asked the slug

The Enigmo looked at him & replied "As long as we get to have fun." he answered, & Leo could tell that the slug was pretty young.

"Then that's a yes." Leo grinned "I'll name you Chip, since you love my photo chips."

"I love it & I love chips!" Chip cheered as he jumped into the air with joy, but he didn't stick the landing so he fell to the ground.

He rolled around & gave silly faces as everyone laughed & enjoyed the company of Leo's new slug, before they all decided to head home.

* * *

**Please leave a review. **


	38. Chapter 38

Next Stop, Trouble

"Please, Jake you're my best bet for a fusion mod." Leo pleaded.

The next morning, after returning from the expedition, Leo left for Slugterra University so he could try & get his cousin to create a fusion mod for him.

"I said, no." Jake repeated "I heard how you took the Enigmo & now you took a vitalis crystal, too. This is going to get you into big trouble with your dad."

"Ok, first of all I didn't take Chip he snuck off into my bag, second me having a fusion mod may be just what I need to help defeat Hyper, & third you missed my birthday so think of this as a late present." Leo explained. Jake was still unsure about it. "And besides I found the old blue prints that Red Hook used for my dad's fusion mod." Leo added, he pulled out a rolled up sheet, & handed it over to Jake to look at.

Jake examined the paper with wide & amazed eyes. He looked back at Leo & sighed "I'll see what I can do."

"Thanks Jake." Leo thanked before he handed over the crystal & left SU while Jake studied the blue prints.

"So where to now?" Save asked as they rode Walker.

"Remember it's the time of the week to train with the Shadow Clan, remember." Leo reminded

"Oh, that's right." Save chirped as they approached the Dark Periphery.

"Welcome, Leonardo." A Shadow Clan member greeted when Leo arrived.

They bowed at each other before starting the training. The Shadow Clan Member took Leo's slugs & hid them around the area, so Leo had to sense their presence. He found most of them except Sorry who hide herself as a Flopper & Save just evaded Leo the entire time. Once Leo had them all he had to do some slug magic chant, then he had to do some drills that involved climbing walls, dueling several Shadow Clan members, & a couple of long sprints.

"That is enough." it said when Leo finished his last lap.

"Thank...goodness." Leo panted, he sat down on a boulder that were near where his slugs were gathered & were goofing off.

"Is that an Enigmo slug?" the Shadow Clan asked when he noticed the silly little slug.

"Yes it is." Leo replied & held up Chip to the member.

"Interesting." it commented "Have you used its special ability?"

"No not yet." Leo replied

"Well now is probably the best time." The Shadow member let Chip hop into his tail & then the member slugged Leo with him.

Leo opened his eyes & looked to Chip & saw his blue aura. "Nice." Leo complimented & he seated himself in the ground as his slugs gathered around him.

Leo picked up Gasher & MeltDown to see that their auras aligned. Leo put them down & picked up Weaver & Dumpster but they didn't align so Leo tried SparkPlug whose aura did align with Weaver. Leo then tried Trip & Return whose auras aligned. Leo continued this process until 10am, he decided to leave, & go back to SU to see if Jake had finished the fusion mod.

Leo arrived at SU an hour later. "Did you finish?" Leo asked when he arrived to Red Hook Hall where Jake was working on the mod.

"Happy Birthday." Jake answered as he pulled off the welding mask he was wearing & tossed the mod over to Leo.

"This is so cool." Leo praised as he awed at the fusion mod.

It looks just like Eli's but it has a light green streak on the sides.

"Yes, & I made the recharge function 2 times faster than Eli's." added a prideful Jake. "But remember if you get in trouble with Eli then you can't tell him that I made it."

"Ok, but if he approves I promise that you'll get full credit." Leo promised

"Thanks Leo." Jake grinned

"Is there anything else I should know?" Leo asked

"Yeah, don't do anything stupid." Jake replied

"Too late for that." Leo muttered "I have one last question, does it work?" Leo asked

Jake grinned. "Why don't we find out?" he asked & placed his hand on top of his blaster.

Leo grinned & agreed to the challenge. They left for the practice arenas & they prepared themselves for the duel. "Ready to taste a bitter defeat?" Leo asked

"Careful Leo, I may knock you out like last time." Jake chuckled

"This time will be different." Leo declared

"How?" Jake demanded

"It just will." Leo replied

They counted down from 3 & then began their duel. Leo fired Heat but he was washed aside by Jake's Aquabeek. Leo fired Star but Jake fired Yang who created a dark cloud around Jake to cancel out the bright light. Leo heard Jake's blaster fire off but no slug was fired at him. Leo loaded & launched Sorry who created several copies of Leo. "Nice try." Jake grinned, when the cloud cleared, & fired his Tormato.

The slug used its twister to dissipate the copies leaving one Leo standing in the open. Jake grinned & fired his albino Infernus, trying to end the duel quickly. The rare Infurnus velacimorphed & punched Leo only to have his copy disappear in red dust. "What?!" demanded a surprised Jake.

Leo hopped down from the ceiling & fired Warden. Warden velacimorphed, he burrowed into the ground, & a giant man eating venus flytrap sprouted out. The plant roared & hissed as it bent down & chomped Jake. Only to have the illusion disappear. "What?!" demanded a surprised Leo

Leo then heard clapping, he looked to the stands to see a smug faced Jake sitting down, with his Thugglet perched next to Speedy, & Jake was applauding how gullible Leo was. Leo realized that Jake must have used his Thugglet when he was covered by Yang's black cloud. Leo growled & angrily fired Gasher, followed by Venom, & Revenge. Jake quickly loaded & fired Speedy. Speedy ratcheted around & knocked away all of the attacking slugs before hitting Leo straight on in the face. Jake grinned as Speedy ratcheted back to him. And Leo groaned in pain as he held his possibly broken nose. "I can't believe it! I think you broke my nose, again!" Leo wined

"You've been through worse." Jake said simply before he fired his Hypnogrif.

Leo avoided the slug. "You know I was trying to give you a winning chance." Leo said "But now I'm regretting it!"

He grabbed the fusion mod & inserted it into his blaster. He loaded SparkPlug & Weaver, aimed at Jake, & fired the 2 slugs. The 2 slugs velacimorphed, they circled around each other as Weaver weaved a web & threw it forward as SparkPlug electrocuted the web creating a web made of electricity. The electrical web flew forward, pinned Jake to the bleachers, & zapped him continuously during the process. When the electrical web finally subsided Jake panted for breath & relief to be free, but when he looked up Leo had Shipwreck aimed right at his head. "I told you it works." said a defeated Jake

Leo grinned & helped Jake to his feet. "Good duel." Jake complimented.

"Thanks, could you help me out here?" Leo requested & lightly tapped his busted nose, he winced when he touched it.

Jake laughed & loaded his Boon Doc into his blaster & fired it at Leo, fixing his nose. "Thanks." Leo said, he lightly tapped his nose to make sure it worked.

After that Leo thanked Jake for his incredible job with the fusion mod before taking off for the SlugIt.

He rode Walker for about 5 minutes before he stopped by the tracks of the Slugterran Express, which is run by John Jones now. But he made it a lot cheaper for those who can't afford mechas, he does have first class service, & it's cheaper now to transport goods.

When Leo stopped the train itself passed by at high speed. The train was hauling tons of tail cars. As Leo watched it pass by an explosion hit the train & nearly hit him. He looked towards the rear of the train to see Hyper slingers on mechas & speeding towards the train. "What are they doing?!" Save asked

"Does it matter?" Leo asked, Walker revved up & sprinted towards the slingers.

Leo loaded & fired Magma who melted a mecha making it crash & burn along with its rider. The surprised Hyper slingers looked forward to see Leo charging at them. They fired a barrage of Hyper Hop Rocks, but Leo launched Soap who easily deflected them all. Leo fired Trip who tangled around a mechas legs making it fall & crash. A Hyper Speedstinger nearly hit him in the head, probably would have broken his nose again. Leo growled & fired Driller who burrowed through the ground & when the mechas stepped onto it they were sunk into the ground. Walker leaped at the last mecha, but the slinger swerved out of the way, & then sprinted froward towards the front of the train. Leo did a u turn & sprinted after the Hyper slinger. The slinger fired a Hyper Grenuke at one of the rail cars creating a large hole in the side, then he fired a Hyper Frostcrawler at the wheels trying to freeze them up, he then loaded a Hyper Armashelt & fired it at another rail car, & the train driver pulled the brakes. The slinger loaded a Hyper Thresher as the train slowed down but then Jokes flew by his head. The surprised slinger turned his head to see Leo chasing after him. He growled & fired the Hyper Thresher at the speeding Shane. Leo easily evaded the Hyper slug & then fired Bomb. Bomb velacimorphed, grabbed onto the back of the mecha, & exploded destroying the mecha & sending the Hyper slinger flying. After the slinger crashed into the ground he ran off before Leo could get there. By the time the slinger had run off the train was at a complete stop, Leo rode up to the side of the engine. "Is everyone ok?!" Leo called out

The train conductor & driver stepped out of the engine & looked down to see the young Shane. "We're ok." they replied

"Are you that new Shane that we've been hearing about?" the conductor asked.

"I sure am." Leo grinned

"Good." the conductor said, he climbed a small ladder, & stepped onto the ground. "Please come with me." he requested & walked by the side of the train cars with Leo by him. "You see we're a cargo train, we need to get our goods to a couple of caverns." he said & stopped by one of the holes the Hyper slinger made.

"What kind of cargo do you guys have?" Leo asked

"This." the conductor answered & pointed inside the busted rail car.

Leo peered inside to see barrels full of slugs. "Well that explains what Hyper is after." Leo said

"Yes, we're transporting them to a slug ranch." the conductor replied "And we're transporting machinery, mecha-beasts, luminous crystals, & other goods."

"So it's not just the slugs that Hyper is after." Leo said

"That is correct." the conductor said "Hyper ambushed us right when we passed Bullseye Cavern."

"Well you don't have to worry." Leo said "I'll call my team & we'll protect you & the train."

"That would be great." the conductor grinned

Leo called up his team & Jake because how close he was & brought them up to speed on the situation. After he made the calls he welded the holes back together by using MeltDown, while he did that his slugs returned to him, & by the time he was done everyone finally arrived.

"So what's the plan?" Jake asked

"All we have to do is protect this train." Leo replied

The conductor allowed them to park their mechas inside an empty rail car. Once they parked their mechas they took different positions on the train. Christi & Garo stood on top of the last rail car, Quiver & Jake were posted with the engine, & Leo was in the middle of them all so he could go where ever he may be needed. Once they were set the train started up, continued its path, & picked up speed. "How is everyone holding up?" Leo asked through his earpiece.

"We're all clear back here." Christi responded

"Same here." Jake replied

"Good, keep a sharp eye out." Leo said

They stood around for about 5 minutes before a giant group of Hyper slingers rode their mechas into view from behind the train. "Leo, they're here." Garo said through the earpiece.

"Ok, remember to stay calm & protecting this train is our number one priority." Leo ordered as the slingers neared the speeding train.

Christi fired her Vinedrill, it used its Vinelash attack to grab several slingers & throw them at the others, hitting a few of them off their mechas. Garo fired his Frostcrawler who created an ice wall in their path. Several of them couldn't move the mechas out of the way & crashed into the ice. "Don't let any of them pass!" Garo yelled as he fired a Lavalynx that used its Fullcano move to destroy several mechas while the others either went around or jumped over the lava.

Several of the slingers were riding with another slinger so 4 of them jumped off & climbed onto the rail car that Garo & Christi were on. "Stop those mechas." Christi ordered "I got these guys." she said & fired her Hop Rock, it exploded & sent a couple of them falling off the train.

Garo was busy firing slugs at the sprinting slingers. The other slingers growled & charged at Christi. She sweep kicked one & pushed him off the edge of the rail car. Another slinger tried to punch her but she moved slightly to the left, uppercutted the goon, jumped up, & kicked him off the train. The last one pulled out his blaster, but Christi fired her Rammstone who knocked him away.

The remaining Hyper slingers split into 2 big groups each taking a side of the fast train & they sprinted faster towards the front of the train. Christi spoke through her earpiece. "Heads up, Leo, they're coming towards you." she warned as several slingers jumped onto the train & aimed their blasters at Garo & Christi.

"Got it." Leo replied, he loaded Revenge, & fired him at the rail car next to the one Leo was standing on, Revenge used his Metalrot move on it.

He then loaded PitFall & fired him at the ground below. PitFall velacimorphed & used his Scarabi attack to knock several mechas away, some hit the side of the train & stalled out. The slingers open fired on Leo. He easily dodged the many slugs or shot them down as 6 slingers jumped onto the rail car that was next to the one Leo was standing on. They aimed their blasters at him. "Surrender, Shane." they ordered

Leo put his hands up & then looked down at the rusty rail car roof. The slingers looked down to see it, Leo grinned, & then he punched the rail car with his hand going straight through. The punch was not really strong but strong enough that the rest of the rail car shook & cracked before it collapsed & took the 6 slingers with it. "Ha, no ticket." Leo grinned & chuckled at his little joke.

He looked towards the end of the train to see Christi fire slug after slug at approaching slingers while Garo threw a couple of them off the train. Leo then looked around him to see several slingers & their mechas sprint towards the engine. "Quiver, Jake be ready." he said through his earpiece as other slingers fired at him or they jumped onto the rail car.

Quiver had perched himself on top of the engine & Jake was on the side balcony. They loaded their blasters & watched as the slingers rode closer to them. They could also see their friends slinging & fighting off other Hyper slingers. The large group of approaching slingers open fired at Quiver & Jake or they hopped onto the rail cars. Jake loaded & fired his Blastipede, it velacimorphed & released its grenades onto the mechas, rail cars, & slingers. The slug landed on top of a rail car, morphed back into protoform, & then it connected its antennas, therefore, detonating the grenades. The explosions destroyed mechas, sent slingers flying off the train, or scared them to back off. As the slingers were distracted by the chaos Quiver fired slug after slug at them, sending them off the train, or off their mecha. But even with all that the Hyper slingers got closer & closer to the engine. Jake fired Yang who used his

Shadowblak move on the slingers, making their visibility at zero. Their mechas crashed into each other, or into the side of the train. Some however avoided Yang's attack so they sped towards the front. Allot of them jumped onto a nearby rail car. Jake quickly fired his Tormato who blew the slingers either further down the train or off it. A couple of mecha slingers fired Hyper Armashelts & Grenukes at Jake & Quiver. Quiver shot them down by using Logie & Jake managed to defeat them by firing his Armashelt that plowed right through the Hyper slugs. As the slingers continued to fire several of them ditched their mechas & jumped onto the rail car, nearest to the engine. Jake didn't waist anytime by loading & firing his Tazerling at the metal rail car. The slug electrified the entire rail car, zapping the slingers until they fell off, were hit by one of Quiver's slugs, or they passed out. When the electricity subsided more Hyper slingers jumped onto the rail car. "These guys are like flees." Quiver growled & fired his Armashelt, who hit a slinger off the train.

Jake fired his Hypnogrif, it used its Berzerker move on a pair of slingers. The slingers growled & aimed their blasters at everyone but Jake & Quiver. The controlled slingers open fired on their allies, the surprised Hyper slingers growled & returned fire as Jake & Quiver watched the show. Unfortunately, it was cut short when a slinger jumped onto the engine & landed next to Jake. Jake was so surprised that he punched the guy in the face. The guy held his face & stumbled backwards, accidentally falling off the train. Jake grinned, but then even more slingers jumped onto the engine. One of them was about to grab him but he was sent off the train by Quiver's Rammstone. Jake punched another & then backed away before any of them could grab him. He loaded Speedy into his blaster, but then one of the slingers shoved him back into the engine room. The slingers flooded the room, they pulled away the conductor & engine driver, while others took control of the train, & one of then stood on the balcony staying on guard. Jake picked himself up, before he could be captured, & he fired Speedy for a trick shot. Speedy ratcheted around hitting away blasters, & then hitting their heads making them get knocked out before going straight at the last slinger, who was standing in the balcony. But just before Speedy could hit the guy Leo leaped, from out of nowhere, & shoved the slinger off the train only to have Speedy hit him straight on in the face. Leo fell back & held his face as he groaned in pain. "Leo, so sorry about that." Jake apologized "It was a complete accident." Jake said, Speedy who're turned to Jake chuckled a bit but he silenced when Save growled at him & he growled back.

"Man, I think you broke my nose, AGAIN!" Leo yelled "I mean come on twice in one day." he growled, but then he winced at the pain.

"Oh, you'll survive." Jake said simply "What are you doing all the way up here anyway?"

"I thought you guys needed help." Leo replied & stood up.

As they talked a couple of the Hyper slingers had had enough, they got their mechas to leap onto boulders, then jumped onto the train, & then sprinted towards the engine, blasters ready. Leo loaded & launched Chip who used his Doublast move on 2 of the approaching mecha back slingers. The now poor eye sighted slingers struggled to keep their blasters aimed. One of them accidentally ran off the edge of the rail car & the other slugged another slinger before crashing into another mecha. The remaining mechas & slingers growled. They charged toward the engine, & fired Hyper slugs at the good slingers.

Leo fired Shipwreck who managed to take down several of the slugs as Jake fired his Arachnet who stopped the rest of then by using its webbing. Jake & Leo then fired their Toxis slugs at the top of the nearest rail car just as the slingers got there. The slingers' mechas jumped up & were about to land on the next rail car when the top melted, due to acid, & they crashed into the metal floor below. Jake & Leo grinned at their great work, they looked around to see that they has defeated all the slingers, & they saw Christi & Garo about 3 rail cars away from them. "That was fun." Christi grinned when she & Garo arrived at the engine.

"Maybe for you." Leo frowned, he lightly touched his nose, & winced in pain.

"What happened to you?" Christi asked, when she noticed Leo's busted nose.

"Yeah, you look like a punching bag for a Cave Troll." Garo said with a bit of humor.

"The truth is that I was a target for a Speedstinger." Leo replied, he glared at Speedy & Jake.

"You should have never gotten in the way." Jake said

"I shouldn't have invited you along." Leo growled

Jake just laughed & shook his head as he loaded his Boon Doc & fired it at Leo. Leo touched his nose to make sure it worked, but before he could thank Jake, the conductor approached them saying "We have a small problem."

"What is it?" Leo asked, the conductor pointed forward.

Everyone looked & saw the small problem. "That's not a small problem." Leo frowned as he examined the giant metal blockade in their way.

The blockade is a giant metal wall, it's placed right on top of the train tracks, & Hyper slingers are surrounding it. "I think they want us to stop." Garo said

"Or crash." Quiver suggested

"But we won't do either." Leo grinned

He stepped to the front of the engine & pulled out his Fusion mod. "Where did you get that?" demanded a serious toned Christi, who remembered Eli saying not to take any vitalis crystals.

"It was a birthday gift." Leo simply replied & slightly looked at Jake.

"So you took an Enigmo & a vitalis crystal." Christi frowned "Leonardo Shane you are one disobedient kid." she said with disproval.

"I know, thanks for noticing." Leo grinned as he placed Save & Gasher into the mod.

"Your dad is going to be upset." Christi added

"He'll get over it & so will you." Leo said as he in steered the mod into his blaster.

Leo spun his blaster around & aimed at the fast approaching blockade. He fired the slugs, they velacimorphed, & then they morphed together.

Their fusion shot is really cool. The velacimorphed Gasher is now completely black with glowing green Shadow Clan markings, his claws & saw blades glow green as well.

The awesome colored Gasher spun & cut right through the metal wall creating a giant hole & destroyed the wall. The train plowed right through the rubble, leaving the surprised & defeated Hyper slingers behind as the cool colored Gasher returned to Leo. The slug landed on the engine & reverted back into Save's & Gasher's protoforms. "That was awesome!" Save cheered, his eyes spinning, & then he collapsed on the floor.

"What happened to him?" Leo asked

"He's just a bit dizzy." Gasher answered before hopping into Leo's hand.

Leo picked up Save & then thanked them both for a great job. "That was totally awesome!" Garo praised

"It sure was." Christi grinned

"See, I told you that you would approve." Leo grinned but Christi just rolled her eyes.

After that there was no sign of Hyper slingers, so the rest of the trip was easy but according to Leo it was boring. They soon made it to their destination within 16 minutes. "Thank you so much for all your help." the conductor thanked when they arrived.

"It was no trouble." Leo said

"What was no trouble?" Eli asked

"Dad! What are you doing here?" Leo asked

"These folks here called me in because Hyper slingers were scurrying around here for this train." Eli replied

"So you got rid of them?" Leo asked

"Of course." Eli grinned "But what happened with all of you?"

Leo & everyone explained how he came upon the train & then they all protected it until they got there. "And there was a giant wall in our way." Quiver added

"Really, how did you his get past it?" Eli asked curiously

"Um, we just...blasted it apart." Leo replied nervously.

Christi grinned with a wicked idea & spoke up saying "Yeah, Leo just pulled out his fusion mod-" she was cut off.

"A Fusion Mod?!" Eli demanded & then glared at Leo & noticed the mod clipped to the side of his belt.

Leo grinned nervously "Hey it got the job done." he said nervously

Eli just glared at him with a serious & angry expression. "Where did you even get a fusion mod?" he demanded but then he looked at Jake & he knew his answer. "Leonardo, you're so grounded." Eli scolded

"But if it wasn't for the fusion mod we be in a mountain of rubble." Leo pleaded

"You're keeping the fusion mod." Eli said

"Really?" Leo asked cheerfully

"Yes, but you're still grounded for taking a vitalis crystal without my permission." Eli replied

"But what about Jake?" Leo demanded "He built the mod."

"Yes & that's very impressive." he said & smiled at Jake who smiled back. Eli then faced Leo. "And I'm not his dad so I can't ground him." he said seriously. "But I am yours." he said & crossed his arms.

"I think I'd rather have crashed into the blockade." Leo groaned as his friends & cousin laughed at his expense.

After that they got their mechas back & left for their homes. Although Leo took his time getting home, because he was too afraid to face his punishment.

* * *

**Please leave a review. **


	39. Chapter 39

**A character from SlugItOut App is in this chapter.**

* * *

Babysitting

After protecting the train Eli & Leo headed home. Leo took his time getting back so Eli beat him home by 30 minutes. When Leo arrived he opened the door & stepped inside only to be met by Eli's angry glare. "So what's my punishment?" Leo asked gloomily.

Eli sighed. "Trixie & I are going out tonight so we'll be home late, & Sydney's at a sleep over with Ashely." Eli said

"What does that have to do with me?" Leo asked

"You are going to baby sit Tim." Eli replied

"What?! No!" Leo demanded "Tim is so annoying when no one else is here."

"Oh, & Tim invited a couple of his friends to come over so you'll be watching them too." Eli added with a slight smirk.

"No, those kids are like slug hounds but with 2 legs & thumbs." Leo wined

"You're exaggerating." Eli said

"Maybe, but those 3 kids are like mini DarkBane." Leo wined "They may end up killing me!"

"I'm sure you'll survive." Eli said simply

"Dad, please can't you just ground me for a month." Leo begged "Please just take away my blaster, mecha, TV, anything just don't do this to me!"

"No, Uluru are going to baby sit & besides these kids can't be that bad." Eli said before knocking was heard from the door. "Well speak of the devil."

"And the devil shall appear!" Tim shouted when he entered the room, ran up to the door, & opened it to reveal two 10 year old kids, a boy & a girl.

The boy has dark messy blonde hair, he's skinny, & has white skin. He's wearing a brown hoodie, a red t-shirt, & red pants.

The girl has neat orange hair, she's skinny, & has white skin. She's wearing a yellow shirt & a long pink skirt.

"Hey Joey." Tim greeted to the boy "Hey Sam." he said to the girl

"Hey Tim." they both greeted & stepped inside. "Nice to see you Mr. Shane." they said to Eli.

"Great to see you too." Eli smiled he then looked to Leo. "I'll be seeing you later."

"Please, reconsider." Leo begged but Eli just smiled & shut the door.

"So what do you guys want to do?" Tim asked his friends

"I'll tell you what to do." Leo interrupted & glared at the three 10 year olds. "You 3 are just going to stay quiet, not touch, or do anything."

Leo then left & locked himself in his room to leave the 3 smirking kids & most of his slugs unattended. He put on his headphones & began reading a book. He read for about 30 minutes before Save & his other slugs tried to get his attention by hopping on to the book. Leo removed his headphones & was about to ask what's wrong but sounds of things breaking & shouting flooded into his ears. Leo sprung up, grabbed his blaster, & sprinted out the room expecting Hyper slingers but he met something even worse. 3 kids running around laughing, shouting, with blasters, & slinging at each other, but they're hitting everything else but each other. "What are you all doing?!" Leo demanded as he looked around at the giant mess of damage, there was broken glass, lamps, & a few small fires here & there.

Leo loaded & fired Soaker who killed the fired & soaked the 3 kids into submission. "What were you guys doing?!" Leo demanded & fumed with rage as he approached the soaked kids.

"We were just having some fun." Tim grinned & they picked themselves up.

"Well your fun almost destroyed the house!" Leo scolded "And where did you get these blasters & slugs?!"

"Dad, always keeps extra blasters around & the slugs are...yours." Tim said shyly & held out Jokes & Dumpster for Leo to see.

Leo glared at them & then at Save. "And you didn't tell me?" he growled

"We tried but you had your headphones on." Save defended

"Whatever, you three are in so much trouble." Leo growled

The 3 kids smirked. "But so will you." Joey said

"No I won't." Leo said

"Yes you will." Sam said "You see you were supposed to watch us & since you didn't this happened." she said & gestured to the giant mess.

"So I'll be blamed for this." Leo frowned worriedly & the kids nodded in agreement.

The kids then bribed Leo into ordering them pizza, soda, & letting them play video games & in return they won't say anything about the damage & they'll help clean it up. "I'm off to get the pizza," Leo announced "& please try not to make a mess." he added before shutting the door, he hopped onto Walker, & sprinted away.

As Leo left the Cavern, a large bronze colored robot stood in the forest & glared at the Shane Hideout. "Target sighted, commence attack." it beeped before marching towards the Hideout.

"Man that plan of yours was genius." Joey complimented

"Thanks, it was real easy to think up." Tim grinned, just then someone knocked on the door. "I've got it." Tim said but before he could take a step a bronze metal arm punched through the door. "What tha?!" Tim said as he jumped in surprise.

The door was ripped away from the wall to reveal the bronze robot. "I am DoomBot." the robot beeped "I am after the Shane!" it demanded & looked around but the 3 kids hid themselves behind the couch.

"What is that thing?" demanded a frightened Sam

"I don't know." replied a panicking Tim

"It's a psycho robot, what's to know?" Joey snapped as DoomBot crept through the room, looked around, & threw things around.

"I know you're here Shane." DoomBot beeped "Come out here now or this place is going to be rubble." It emphasized its point by firing a Hyper Hop Rock at the ceiling.

Tim was about to stand up but Sam grabbed his arm & pulled him back down. "What are you doing?" she demanded worriedly.

"I can't let him destroy my home." Tim snapped

"But you can't give yourself up." Joey hissed

"Then what am I supposed to do?" Tim demanded as DoomBot smashed a table & continued his search.

"I don't know." Joey snapped

"Let's hide until Leo gets back." Sam suggested

Tim then got an idea. "I have to get to Leo's room." he whispered

"Why?" Joey & Sam asked

"There's something in there that can help us." Tim replied "Just stay here." he ordered before crawling towards the stairs.

He managed to get up & to Leo's room without being spotted by DoomBot. Once inside he search Leo's room he searched the shelves, the drawers, & the desk he threw things around desperately trying to find it. He eventually went to Leo's bed & threw everything off but still didn't find it. He then bent down & looked under the bed to see a small black chest, he grabbed it, pulled it out, opened it, & smiled as he pulled out what he was searching for, Leo's Shadow Walker. He activated it & teleported back behind the couch. "How did you do that?" Joey asked when Tim appeared before them.

"Shush, just hold on to me." Tim said, his friends grabbed his arms, & Tim activated the Shadow Walker.

They teleported & reappeared right over DoomBot & they fell right on top of it. "Get off you pests." DoomBot ordered, it shook itself. & the 3 kids fell to the ground.

The menacing robot faced the 3 scared kids. "Give up Shane or your little friends pay for it!" DoomBot boomed & aimed his blaster arm at the kids.

Tim panicked & activated the Shadow Walker but they teleported & ended up on top of the fridge. A surprised DoomBot spun around & fired a Hyper Hop Rock. Tim panicked again & they teleported into Sydney's room. "What were you thinking?!" Sam demanded

"Sorry, I don't really know how to control this thing." Tim apologized but then the door to the room was blasted open.

"Get out here, Shane!" DoomBot demanded

"Stay here & I'll lead him away." Tim ordered before activating the Shadow Walker.

This time he teleported by the front of the house where the door used to be. Tim picked up a piece of rubble & chucked it at DoomBot's head. "You'll have to catch me!" Tim yelled, DoomBot turned around, & spotted a figure running off to the forest.

The robot ran, more like a fast march, towards Tim. Tim ran into the woods & disappeared in the bushes, he turned around to see DoomBot following him. He activated the Shadow Walker & he teleported back inside the Hideout. "That was so scary." Sam said when Tim returned

"Yeah." Joey agreed

"It could have been worse." Tim responded, then they heard a mecha approach.

A shocked Leo stood at the door way with a pizza in his arms. Leo dropped his jaw as he examined the busted door way, broken table, & the giant mess. "What. Did. You. 3. Do!?" demanded a fuming Leo as he threw the pizza down.

"It wasn't us!" Tim defended

"Yeah, it was this crazy robot!" Sam added

"Its name was DoomBot!" Joey added

"Shut Up!" Leo ordered "That's the worst excuse I've ever heard!"

"But we're telling the truth." Tim defended

"Really?" Leo demanded & then he noticed his Shadow Walker in Tim's hand. Leo snatched it away. "I told you, this isn't a toy!" Leo scolded

"We used it to get rid of DoomBot." Tim explained as Leo marched up the stairs & then he noticed Sydney's busted door way.

"You guys are in so much trouble!" Leo scolded & pointed to the room. He then entered his to see it in a complete mess of thrown around clothes, sheets, & objects. "You guys ruined my room!" he shouted

"Actually, that was Tim." Joey said

"I don't care who did it!" Leo snapped & placed the Shadow Walker back in its chest & placed it under the bed. "I knew this would happen." he muttered before leaving his room. "You 3 are going to have to explain this all to your parents." Leo said

"But we didn't do it." they defended

"Just be quieted & sit down." Leo ordered & pointed at the couch. "My parents are going to kill me." Leo muttered to himself as the kids seated themselves.

"We can help clean up." Sam suggested

"Sure, if any of you can fix a table, or repair a busted door, or fix a giant hole in the ceiling?!" Leo snapped & pointed at the 3 items.

The 3 kids silenced themselves & stayed seated as Leo began to clean up. He didn't fix anything he just swept, picked up the rubble, & picked up the dropped pizza. "Can we have that?" Joey asked shyly.

Leo just tossed the pizza in front if them. They slowly opened it up to see it all messed up for being dropped & thrown. They ate it gloomily as Leo continued cleaning.

By the time they were done with the pizza Leo had just finished cleaning. "I'm going to go get supplies to fix all this, stay here & DON'T DO ANYTHING." Leo ordered

"But what if DoomBot comes back?" asked a worried Sam

"I'll tell you what these guys will keep an eye on you." Leo said & placed X & Save on the couch. "And maybe they'll defeat DoomBot for you." Leo joked

"But we don't have a blaster?" Tim pointed out

"Well figure something out." Leo replied before leaving.

"He doesn't believe us!" Joey declared

"Well can you blame him?" Sam asked

"No, no we can't." Tim replied, he then turned to the 2 slugs. "You guys believe us, right?" he asked, the slugs just shook their heads no, Tim sighed in disappointment.

"What do we do if it comes back?" Sam asked

"We slug him." Tim said & held up a confused X.

"But what do we use to slug him?" Joey asked

Tim smirked "Well before Leo took away the blasters we were using earlier I hid one just in case." he explained, he reached under a couch cushion, & pulled out a small practice blaster.

When Tim held it out to show his friends, Save then hopped on it & began chirping, trying to tell Tim to quiet lying & to put the blaster away, & then he crossed his arms & gave Tim a stern & disapproving look. Tim just picked up Save & placed him on the floor. "Save, you may not believe us but you will." Tim promised, he then pulled out a slug tube, placed X inside, & then loaded him into the blaster.

"So now what?" Sam asked

"Now, we wait." Tim replied

Meanwhile, DoomBot watched from the woods. "So you think you can get rid of me just like that?" It asked itself "Well you are very wrong." It beeped & marched back towards the Hideout with its blaster charging up.

It marched up to it & fired a Hyper Grenuke, it grabbed onto the side of the house, & exploded creating hole in the wall & startling the 3 unattended kids.

"That was quick." Sam muttered as DoomBot marched through the hole & glared at the kids.

"Come out Shane or I fry these brats!" DoomBot boomed

"I'm right here!" Tim declared & aimed the blaster at DoomBot.

DoomBot glared at Tim & then it burst into laughter. "What's the matter Shane you need to hide behind children?!" it laughed

"I am the Shane!" Tim shouted

"Wait." DoomBot said & examined Tim "Yes, you are a Shane but not the one I'm after."

"Then who are you after?" Sam asked

"The one called Leonardo." DoomBot beeped

Tim glared at the psycho bot & fired X. X velacimorphed & created an EMP which shut down all the electronics, Tim's practice blaster, & DoomBot. "We did it!" Sam cheered when DoomBot shut down.

"We did." Tim grinned as Joey walked up to DoomBot.

Joey kicked it & DoomBot beeped & began to power back up, making Joey jump back in fright. "How I used an Xmitter?!" Tim demanded as they backed away from the robot.

"I have circuits that can prevent power loss & it recharges electricity allot faster." DoomBot replied "And now you're all defenseless this maybe the perfect way not to only defeat one but all the Shanes. By holding Eli's youngest brat as a hostage." DoomBot threatened & its blaster began to charge up.

"Wait, can't we talk about this?" Tim pleaded as they backed away, but the robot just marched toward them.

DoomBot leaned in & answered "No." it aimed its charging blaster right at the terrified kids.

It was was just about to fire a Hyper slug but just before firing Gasher slashed DoomBot's arm away, not cutting it off but it did make it miss its shot. DoomBot beeped a growl & turned to see Leo aiming his blaster at it. "Aw, my target has finally quite hiding." DoomBot said

"I was never hiding." Leo growled & fired Basher who blasted DoomBot to the second floor & into Leo's room.

"Leo!" the 3 kids chimed

"What are you doing here?" Tim asked when they hugged him.

"I saw the EMP so I figured you guys were destroying the house." Leo replied as Save hopped into his shoulder & X jumped into a slug tube.

"Do you at least believe us now?" Sam asked as they pulled away.

"Yes." Leo replied, but then DoomBot jumped back to the main floor & startled everyone.

"You will be destroyed!" DoomBot boomed

"Yeah, sure." Leo said sarcastically he loaded Virus & fired her at the crazy droid.

Virus velacimorphed, turned into violet electricity, & entered DoomBot. The robot twitched, shook, & stomped around as Virus tried to take control. But instead of Virus taking control she was blasted out as violet electricity & crashed into the wall. She returned to protoform & wobbled around in a daze. "Are you ok?" Leo asked as he picked up his hurt Virtum.

DoomBot began to laugh. "My software prevents any viruses & Virtums from taking control of me." it laughed "Your Xmitter & Virtum are absolutely useless!" Leo, X, & Virus growled as DoomBot laughed. "But unfortunately the fun is over." the robot said & aimed his blaster at Leo & the kids. He fired a Hyper Hop Rock at them. Leo reacted quickly by grabbing & jumping the kids out of the way as the Hyper slug exploded. "That was way too close." Joey said as they picked themselves up.

DoomBot fired a Hyper Thresher but Leo used Smasher to punch the Hyper slug away. Leo then loaded & fired Goop who blinded the robot by spitting slime at its face. Leo turned to the kids "Go & hide." he ordered as DoomBot tried to rip away the goop.

Tim nodded & led his friends towards the front of the house. DoomBot pulled away the slim & noticed them. He fired a Hyper Tazerling at them. Leo quickly fired Prize who created a crystal wall, protecting the kids. Leo then fired Revenge who made most of DoomBot's body turn rusty. "It's going to take more than rust to take me down." DoomBot beeped & fired a Hyper Speedstinger at Leo.

Leo ducked down & the slug zoomed by & ratcheted around breaking everything it hit, it nearly hit Joey if he didn't duck. Leo ran up to the kids, grabbed them, & pulled them outside toward the forest. "Get back here!" DoomBot boomed as it chased after them, but the rust & its heavy weight was slowing it down.

Leo stopped by a large tree. "Stay behind here." he ordered

"But we can help." Tim protested

"No." Leo snapped

"But we can, let us make up for the trouble we've caused." Tim pleaded "Please, Leo."

Leo thought about it & replied "Just distract him, without getting blasted, & let me get a clear shot." Leo replied as he instated the fusion mod into his blaster.

The kids grinned & took off as DoomBot appeared. "Where are you?!" it demanded

Joey hide himself behind a bush. "Over here you walking bucket of rust!" he shouted & ran off as DoomBot fired a Hyper Hop Rock at his direction, completely missing him.

"You couldn't hit a mecha if it was parked right in front of you!" Sam taunted from behind a boulder, she sprinted away as DoomBot fired a Hyper Rammstone, which destroyed the rock.

Leo watched as the kids distracted & frustrated the insane robot. He placed X & Virus into the fusion mod. "It can handle you both when you're each by yourself, but can he take you both on at once?" Leo asked with a confident grin.

X & Virus smiled with confidence, pride, & determination to prove themselves.

Meanwhile, Tim snuck to the opposite side of Leo, he stood on top of a boulder, waved his arms, & yelled "Hey you tin can, over here!" he yelled

DoomBot turned & faced the little Shane. "Shanes, none of you are very smart." it said as Leo stepped away from the tree & aimed the 2 electricity elemental slugs.

"Want to bet." Tim grinned as Leo fired the slugs at DoomBot's back.

They velacimorphed & fired a green colored lighting blasted at the unsuspecting robot. The blast blasted DoomBot forward, making him smash into the boulder Tim was perched on, DoomBot stood up, shook, sparked, & wobbled around as green electricity surged through its body. DoomBot twitched, smoke began airing out of its body, & it shut down while standing up. Tim crept up to it, kicked it, & jumped away in case it turned back on. "We, we did it!" he cheered & his 2 friends joined in.

"We sure did!" Sam cheered

"That was awesome!" Joey cheered as the 3 of them embraced each other.

Leo grabbed them & raised then in the air. "You guys were great." he praised

"So were you." they replied as Leo put them down, but then a bang, grumbling, & shaking was heard from DoomBot.

Leo loaded SparkPlug & aimed him at DoomBot as he continued to shake. The shaking got more intense until his belly opened up & smoke puffed out, Leo began charging his blaster when he saw a silhouette move inside, then a Molenoid with a mustache & combed hair popped out, & fell to the ground. The Molenoid coughed at the smoke as he fanned it away & stepped away from his robot suite. "You imbecile!" he shouted at Leo "Do you have any idea how much that cost?!" he demanded

"Um, no." Leo replied

"Well it was allot!" the mole scolded

"Who are you?" Leo demanded, blaster charging & aimed.

"What how could you not have heard of the great & magnificent Sedo?" the mole demanded

"Oh, you're the mole that used to work for Pronto until you ran away." Tim said

"I did not run away." Sedo growled "I only left that dump of a cavern behind."

"And you got a job as a bounty hunter for Hyper." Leo said

"That is correct, they hired me to take you out of the picture." Sedo confirmed, but Leo aimed his blaster Sedo's face.

"But now you're getting out of the picture." Leo said

Sedo grinned "I don't think so." he said, he pulled out a blaster, & fired a Hyper Phosphoro who blinded Leo, Tim, & his friends.

When their vision returned they saw that Sedo must have scurried off, but he left his robot suite behind. "He got away." Joey said disappointedly

"That's ok, I don't think he'll be coming back anytime soon." Leo responded "Hey Tim."

"Yeah, Leo." Tim said

"I'm sorry for not believing you, about DoomBot, ops, I mean Sedo." Leo apologized

"It's ok & I'm sorry for the mess we made earlier." Tim apologized

"That's ok." Leo grinned "I used to make bigger messes than that anyway."

"Really?" Joey asked

"Yeah, I once fired Burpy when no one was looking & I ended up burning half the house." Leo grinned "Now let's head back before anybody gets back home." Leo said, he grabbed DoomBot & dragged it back to the Hideout with the 3 kids pushing from behind.

When they returned they found Eli & Trixie examining the damage from the robot attack. "Hey guys." Leo greeted

Eli & Trixie turned around & Leo saw their furious faces. "Leonardo, you are grounded for a month." Eli growled

"Look at what you did. Someone could have been hurt!" Trixie scolded & pointed to all the damage.

"But that wasn't me!" Leo defended

"Oh really?" Trixie demanded "Are you saying that Tim & his friends did this?"

"No, this did." Leo snapped, he stepped to the side to show his angry parents the busted DoomBot suite.

"What is that a blasted mecha?" Eli demanded

"It's an evil robot." Joey replied

"A robot?" Trixie questioned

"Its name is DoomBot." Sam added

"Leonardo, why did you get these children to lie for you?" demanded an angry Eli

"They're not lying this robot is actually a suite that was being used by Sedo." Leo responded

"Sedo?" Eli asked "Why was he here?"

"He was targeting Leo." the 3 kids replied & pointed at Leo.

"Targeting?" Trixie asked

"Yeah, Hyper wants me out of the picture so they hired him." Leo explained "Supposedly he attacked Tim & the others when I left-"

"You left them alone?!" Trixie demanded

"To go get pizza!" Leo defended "Anyway these guys managed to get rid of him, then he came back & we took care of him."

"You let them duel?!" Eli demanded

"No of course not." Leo replied "They just distracted him."

"Did you get Sedo?" Eli asked

"No that rat ran off when we found out who he really was." Leo replied

"So no arrest." Eli said he then sighed. "Here take this as a reward for protecting them & watching them." Eli said & held out a Tormato to Leo.

"This is for me?" Leo asked & Eli nodded.

Leo held out his hand & the slug hopped into it. "How are you?" Leo asked

"I'm good." the Tormato replied, its voice revealed that it was a girl.

"Good, & are you good with having the name Breeze?" Leo asked & the Tormato agreed.

"Alright get to work, Leo." Eli said as Breeze hopped into a slug tube.

"What?" Leo questioned

"Start cleaning & fixing this place up." Eli clarified

"Why do I have to?" Leo demanded

"Because you're still in trouble for taking the vitalis crystal & that you left these kids alone." Eli explained before he left & then handed Leo a broom.

"But they made a mess when I wasn't watching them." Leo said

"You what?" Eli demanded "You weren't watching them?!"

"Um...um...I should start cleaning up." Leo said nervously & began sweeping as Tim & his friends chuckled.

"Time to get you two home." Trixie said to Joey & Sam.

"Ok, see you later Tim." they said before taking a seat on Boomer with Trixie, she revved up Boomer, & then jogged away.

Eli began thinking with a serious expression on his face. "What's the matter Eli?" Burpy chirped

"It's about Leo." Eli replied "I'm worried about him."

"Why is that?" Burpy asked

"Because, he's a target of Hyper." Eli replied with worry in his tone.

* * *

**Please leave a review.**


	40. Chapter 40

Babysat

When Trixie returned home, after taking Sam & Joey home, she approached the newly repaired house & walked inside to find Eli sitting on the couch with a worried expression. "What the matter with you?" Trixie asked

"Nothing." Eli lied

"Eli." Trixie said giving him a stern look & crossing her arms.

"It's about Leo." Eli sighed

"What did he do now?" Trixie asked

"He didn't do anything." Eli replied "I'm just worried."

"Worried, worried about what?" asked a concerned Trixie as she took a seat next to her husband.

"It's Hyper they're targeting Leo." Eli replied "They've sent monsters, bounty hunters, a psycho, & even a robot."

"What are you saying?" Trixie asked

"I'm saying that Leo needs to be protected."

"How, should we send him back to the Shadow Clan?"

"No."

"But we can't keep Leo locked up somewhere safe he'll hate that."

"I know that's why I'm going to call in someone that can protect him without him ever knowing."

The next morning Leo slept in because he stayed up for a while because he was making the repairs & cleaning up. He stretched & got ready for the day. "Morning." Leo greeted to his family when he entered the main room.

"Hey Leo." Eli greeted

"Hey dad." Leo responded as he walked toward the garage.

"& where are you going?" Eli asked

"I'm heading over to the SlugIt." Leo replied

"Ok, just be careful." Eli said

"I will." Leo said before entering the garage, he mounted onto Walker, & sprinted out to join his friends.

As Leo left Eli spoke into his earpiece. "How's it going?" he asked

"All is good." buzzed a voice through the earpiece.

"Good just remember keep an eye on him & don't let him know you're there." Eli reminded before hanging up.

About 3 minutes later Leo was passing through a town, he set Walker at a walk, just so he wouldn't end up running into or onto someone. "There he is." Spirex hissed from atop of roof as he watched Leo on the street below.

"Yeah, the kid that humiliated us & had it filmed." Minatorious snarled

"We've been patient now we can get our dignity back." Turtleton states as they pulled out their blasters.

They each loaded a Hyper slug into the blasters & aimed them on the unsuspecting Shane. They grinned as their blasters began to charge, but before they could fire an Arachnet flew at them, it spun a web, & wrapped the webbing around the freaks tying them up into a cocoon. "What is this?" Spirex demanded

"Who's the funny guy that did this?" Minatorious demanded as he thrashed around but only ended up hurting his pals.

He continued to thrash around until a Slyren used its Sleepytime attack to put them under.

"What was that?" Leo asked when he heard the lullaby. He shrugged. "I must be hearing things." he said before sprinting off, totally unaware of the danger he was almost in, as a silhouette stood on top of a roof & watched him sprint off.

A few minutes later Leo arrived to the SlugIt. He joined his friends & they hung out for awhile they did some target practice, Leo especially worked with his new Tormato, Breeze. They were having a good time until 3 familiar slingers entered the target range. "There you are Shane." Duncan growled when he noticed the Shane Strikers.

"The Trouble Makers." Leo announced

"I haven't seen you guys in a while." Garo added

"Last time we saw you we were humiliated." Duncan snarled

"It wasn't that bad." Leo said sarcastically.

Duncan growled, he pulled out his blaster, & fired a Hop Rock. Leo easily dodged it & fired Avalanche, who smashed into Duncan & he crashed into a table. Duncan's lackeys fired slugs at the Shane Strikers but they were easily taken down. As they dueled Duncan managed to hide behind a couch & he aimed his blaster at Leo, who did not notice him because his back was turned. Duncan grinned & fired the Thresher. The slug velacimorphed & spun at Leo but before it could get even close to him an Aquabeek came out of nowhere & soaked the Thresher away without Leo ever noticing. "What?" Duncan gasped when his slug crashed into the wall.

He was about to load another slug but then he was punched in the face, he fell to ground, he shook his head, & turned to see as hooded slinger aiming a blaster at him. "Who are you?" Duncan demanded as the Shane Strikers continued to duel.

"Stay away from the Shane." the hooded slinger hissed & fired a Frightgeist.

When the slug hit him, Duncan freaked out, & ran for the exit screaming. His lackeys were completely confused by this but they ran after him leaving the confused Shane Strikers behind. "What just happened?" Quiver asked when the Trouble Makers left & the hood slinger slipped away without anybody noticing.

"I don't know." Leo replied

"Maybe they just got scared when they saw how much better we've gotten." Christi suggested with a grin.

"Maybe." Leo said but he got the feeling that it was something else.

"Leo, how many times do I have to tell?" Stalker demanded as he approached the Shane Strikers. "I told you, you can only duel in the arena." he scolded

"I know but we were just defending ourselves." Leo defended

"You're just lucky you didn't leave that big of a mess." Stalker growled & walked away.

After that they left to go get some lunch at a small nearby restaurant. As they mounted their mechas & rode off the hooded slinger watched then from atop the SlugIt. They made it to the restaurant in a couple of minutes, they ordered their food, & ate. As they ate Sedo watched them from the other side of the street, he was standing behind a pair of garbage cans trying to stay out of sight. "Enjoy yourself now." he said to himself "For it won't last long." he threatened & stroked his mustache.

He loaded a Hyper Grenuke & fired it at the Shane Strikers. The Hyper slug grabbed onto the table & exploded sending the Strikers flying in 4 different directions. "What tha?" Leo asked as he picked himself up & saw Sedo loaded a Hyper Armashelt.

"Hyper will pay me handsomely if I take you out." Sedo threatened & fire the Hyper slug at him.

Leo covered his eyes waiting for the hit but it never came. He looked & his eyes widened when he saw that an ice wall had protected him. He looked around & saw Garo grinning. "Thanks bud." Leo thanked

"No problem." Garo said & fired a Rammstone.

Sedo dodged the slug & it ended up smashing into the trash cans. He then fired a Hyper Speedstinger. The slug ratcheted around as Sedo fired a barrage of Hyper slugs. The Shane Strikers fired their own slugs to stop them as the Hyper Speedstinger continued to ratchet around, but it eventually made a beeline at Leo's back. But before it could hit him a Vinedrill wrapped its tentacles around the slug & pulled it to the ground. Leo heard a whoosh from behind him, he turned around to see a protoform Vinedrill & a protoform Hyper Speedstinger. As Leo examined the slugs Sedo fired a Hyper Flaringo at him. "Leo watch out!" Save warned

Leo turned to see the slug flying at him, but before he could move out of the way, a Frostcrawler encased the Hyper slug in a cube of ice. Making it fall & land at a surprised Leo's feet. "Thanks guys." Leo thanked to his team.

"For what?" Quiver asked "Because that wasn't us." he stated

Leo gasped & looked around until he saw the hooded slinger on top of a nearby roof. "Who are you?!" Leo demanded

Sedo noticed that the Shane Strikers were distracted so he loaded & launched a Hyper VenusSlim at Leo. Leo heard the blaster to off, he turned his head to see a Hyper VenusSlim velacimorph & to be heading right at him. The slug was just about to wrap its frills around Leo when it was shot down by a a very familiar Infernus. The fiery slug flew back & landed in the hooded slinger's shoulder just as the slinger fired a Polero that tied Sedo to a lamp post. "Who are you?" Leo demanded but the slinger sprinted away on top of the roofs.

Leo & his friends chased after the slinger leaving Sedo behind. He looked around & slipped away from the Polero & then sprinted off.

Meanwhile, Leo & his friends chased down the speedy slinger. "Wait, I just want to talk!" Leo yelled but the slinger continued to go from roof to roof.

The slinger then jumped down to the ground & sprinted off with the pursuing Shane Strikers. Leo had had enough he fired Weaver but the slinger saw that coming & jumped out of the way. Leo growled & fired Trip but the slinger managed to kick him away. Finally, Leo fired Flight, Flight velacimorphed, & flew at the hooded slinger. He was just about to grab on the slinger when the slinger ducked down but Flight managed to grab the hood & lift it off reveling the slinger. The Shane Strikers stopped & gasped when they saw who it was. "Aunt Karina?" Leo asked

She turned around to show Leo her face. "Hi Leo." she greeted with a shy smile.

"Aunt Karina, what are you doing here?" Leo asked "Shouldn't you be at SU?"

"I have the day off." Karina replied

"Ok, but why did you interrupt our duel?" Leo demanded

"I just wanted to be part of the fun." Karina lied, but Leo could tell otherwise.

"No you had a different reason." Leo said with a serious tone. He glared at his aunt until he figured it out. "My father got you to follow me didn't he?" he demanded

"No he-"

"Didn't he?!"

"Ok, yes he asked me to keep an eye on you."

"Why? Doesn't he trust me?" Leo demanded, feeling a bit hurt by the lack of trust.

"He does trust you, & that's not why I'm here." Karina answered

"Then what was the reason?"

"Your father has been worried about your safety."

"Why? I can take care of myself."

"He's worried because Hyper has been targeting you & have been using bounty hunters to do it."

"But DoomBot was easy to take down."

"No not just about DoomBot. I mean that Hyper has been sending all sorts of threats. I mean they've sent monsters, slingers, a robot, & not to mention a deranged & dangerous psycho path."

"But I took care of them all! Even Blite."

"Yes, but what happens when they think up a different plan."

"Then I'll handle it."

"It's not that simple you need to be protected."

"No you guys just think that I can't take care of it myself!"

"Leo that is not the reason."

"Then back off!"

"No I promised your father that I'd watch & protect you." Karina clarified. Leo growled & ran off. "Where are you going?!" Karina demanded

"Away from my babysitter!" Leo shouted, he hopped onto Walker, & sprinted away leaving Karina & his friends behind.

"Leonardo get back here!" Karina ordered as Leo disappeared out of sight. "That kid is even more stubborn than my hard headed brother." Karina muttered & shook her head in disbelief.

Meanwhile, Leo sprinted away he really had no destination he just really wanted to get out of there. "What are you doing?" Save demanded "Where are we going?"

"We're going anywhere but here." Leo replied

He rode for about 20 minutes before he finally came to a stop & when he stopped he looked to see where he was he found himself at Botton & Spinx Cavern. "So now what?" Save asked

Just then an explosion went off & Hyper slingers ran off from it. Eli jumped out of the smoke & fired a megamorohed Spinner who tied up the Hyper slingers in webbing. The crowd of pedestrians clapped as Eli handed the Hyper slingers over to Cavern Security. As the crowd dispersed Leo walked up to Eli. "Surprising what someone can get done when they don't have a babysitter." Leo scowled

Eli faced him "Hey Leo." Eli greeted & looked around, probably to see if Karina was there.

"If you're looking for my babysitter? She's not here." Leo said

"What babysitter?" Eli asked

"Dad, why did you have Aunt Karina follow me?" Leo demanded

"What are you talking about?" Eli asked

"Don't act oblivious she told me everything." Leo snapped

Eli sighed "Ok, I did call her to keep an eye on you." he replied

"Why?" Leo demanded

"It was just in case something went wrong."

"Like what I screw up or embarrass you?"

"No, but-"

"-but nothing!" Leo interrupted, he mounted onto Walker & sprinted off.

"Leo wait! Get back here!" Eli ordered but Leo was already gone.

Meanwhile, a slinger peered through his sniper blaster & watch Leo ride away from Eli. "So the wolf pup has decided to be alone wolf." he sneered "For shame, that only makes the hunt less of a challenge, oh well." Hunter J sighed

**Notice: If you don't remember Hunter J revisit chapter 25. **

When Leo made it to the edge of town Hunter J fired a Hyper Polero, it tangled around Walker's legs making it fall with Leo with it. "What tha?" Leo asked as he picked himself up only to have a Hyper Rammstone nearly rammed into him. "Whoa!" Leo said & fired Prize at the ground. Prize created a crystal wall which stopped a Hyper Thresher. "Who is it now?" Leo demanded, he poked his head out only to see a Hyper Hop Rock fly at him & hit the wall.

Leo loaded Star & fired her at the direction of the attacking Hyper slugs. As Star shined her blinding light Leo made a run for it towards an alley, but Hunter J's sunglasses cancelled out Star's attack so he fired a Hyper Hop Rock that hit Leo, making him fall backwards on the ground. Before Leo could look up J hit him with a Hyper Sand Angler. Leo leaped behind a dumpster, trying to take cover, but it was destroyed by a Hyper Grenuke. "Like I said this hunt is not a challenge." J sighed as he loaded a Hyper Flaringo.

Leo looked to where the Hyper slugs were coming from. He loaded Rocket & fired him. J fired his Hyper Flaringo. The 2 slugs velacimorphed & charged at each other but before they could collide a megamorphed Suds swallowed up the Hyper Flaringo & deflected Rocket. "What?!" both Leo & J demanded

Just then a megamorphed Joules zapped J. "Back off J!" Eli ordered & fired his Rammstone in megamorph.

J managed to avoid the slug, he fired a Hyper Thresher but Eli deflected it by using a megamorph Buzzsaw. Eli then fired a Bolo who tied around J making him fall to the street below & into a dumpster. "They don't make slingers like they used to." Eli grinned & put his blaster down as he approached Leo who was picking up Rocket.

"I had this under control." Leo growled

"Ok, then tell me who was attacking you?" Eli demanded, crossing his arms.

"Um...it was...I don't know." Leo frowned

"It was Hunter J." Eli said "And thanks to me he's no longer a problem."

"I would have handled it." Leo said as his friends & Karina arrived.

"There you are!" Karina said cheerfully but then she noticed Eli. "Hey Eli." she grinned shyly.

"I thought you said that he wouldn't even see you?" Eli demanded

"Sorry, but your boy gets into allot of trouble." Karina responded

"Ain't that the truth?" Save grinned & Leo frowned & rolled his eyes.

"Come on let's go check up on our hunter." Eli suggested & led them all to the dumpster that J fell into only he was gone.

"What do you know, he got away?" Leo sighed

"Even so he's not going to appear for a while." Eli responded

Meanwhile, Hunter J had stopped just outside the cavern panting & catching his breath after escaping the Shanes. "That wasn't very impressive." said a voice

"Who's there?!" J demanded, but then Snatch jumped down in front of him.

**Notice: If you don't remember Snatch revisit chapter 11. **

"What are you doing here?" J demanded

"Lending you my assistance." Snatch replied

"I didn't ask for backup." J growled

"Brink sent me. He thought it would be best for us to team up."

"I don't need your help."

"Fine, then you can personally tell Brink that you disobeyed an order & that you failed to do your job."

J growled. "Fine, but I'm in charge."

"I'm perfectly ok with that." Snatch smirked

Back at Botton & Spinx Leo was arguing with Eli to leave him alone & that he can protect himself. "Leo, you have my answer, I will not change my mind." Eli affirmed

Leo growled, he picked up Walker, & mounted on top of it. "Where are you going?" Eli demanded. Leo didn't bother answering instead he sprinted away. "Leonardo, you get back here this instant!" Eli ordered but Leo was already gone.

"I told you this was a bad idea." Karina muttered, Eli gave her a stern look as Leo disappeared.

"Leo go back he's doing this for your safety." Save chirped

"But he doesn't have to get me a babysitter." Leo snapped

"He didn't get a babysitter he called your aunt."

"Same difference."

"Where are we going anyway?"

"To where no one can find us."

"Are you talking about the Spot?" Save asked happily.

"Yup, it's the perfect place for me to let off some steam & keep away from everyone." Leo replied & they sped up.

They rode for 15 minutes before they arrived to the outer edge of Shadow Clan territory. They arrived at a small tunnel, Leo drove Walker through it, and they walked for 2 minutes before ending up to the Spot. "We're here." Leo grinned as he awed at the Spot.

The Spot is a small hidden circular cave about as wide as 3 dueling arenas with a small pond on the side, small mushroom trees, a tiny field of grass, & luminous crystals on the ceiling. The Spot is located on the outer edges of the Dark Periphery, Bullseye Cavern, & Luminos Cavern.

Leo parked, dismounted from Walker, he began to climb the cave wall up to a small cave. When he got up there he looked around to see all his stuff still there. He has a small handmade dresser, a hammock was stretched in between 2 stalagmites, a lantern hung from the ceiling, a handmade chair, drawings taped to the wall, a makeshift slug roost sat in the corner, & a couple of wooden shelves. On the shelves were picture frames, a few plants, & some Shadow Clan artifacts.

Leo took a breath. "Good to be back." he sighed & collapsed on the hammock as his slugs hopped out & onto the floor.

"What is this place?" Prize asked

"This is the Spot." Save grinned

"The Spot?" Sorry repeated

"It's the place we found while living with the Shadow Clan." Trip explained

"And when we found it we built everything in here." Save added with pride, but then one of the chair's handles broke off & fell to the ground.

"I can believe that." Basher sassed when he saw it fall.

"We used this place as a break area in between training to relax & have fun, but not as a permanent living space." Star added

"It's also where he got me." Pierce chimed

"Does anyone know about this place?" X asked

"Nope, not even the Shadow Clan or Leo's parents." Save replied

"Oh, so that's why Leo decided to come here." Sorry grinned before they spread out through the cave & the slug roost.

Leo shut his eyes & fell asleep as his slugs explored the small cave, slug roost, &/or the Spot.

Meanwhile, Snatch & Hunter J arrived just outside the tunnel that led to the Spot. "Are you sure he's through there?" Snatch asked

"Of course he is, my tracking devices don't lie." J snarled & walked into the tunnel with Snatch right behind him.

In about 4 minutes they made it to the Spot. They hide by the tunnel wall & examined the area to see Leo's slugs scattered around the place. "Well where is he?" Snatch whispered, trying to avoid being noticed by the slugs.

"It says he's in here." J snapped, checking his tracking tablet.

"Enough we'll just lure him out." Snatch growled & loaded a Hyper Grenuke into his blaster.

He then fired the Hyper slug & it exploded at the cave's wall. Leo sprung up from the hammock & peered down to see his slugs panicking & Hunter J & Snatch firing a couple of Hyper slugs around the place. Leo gathered the slugs that had stayed by him, he loaded Echo & fired her at the intruders. She velacimorphed & used her Whistleer move on them. As Echo attacked the intruders the rest of the slugs managed to return to Leo. By the time he had them all Echo's attack had stopped. Hunter J snarled & fired a Hyper Flaringo at Leo. Leo quickly fired Soaker who took down the Hyper slug. "How did you guys find this place?!" Leo demanded when he jumped down from his little cave.

"A little tracking device I pinned on you when I escaped earlier." J smirked & fired a Hyper Thresher as Snatch fired a Hyper Speedstinger.

Leo loaded & launched Fang who drained the Hyper Thresher & then knocked the Hyper Speedstinger away with his wing. Fang then flew at Snatch & punched him sending him flying back into a stalagmite. J fired a pair of Hyper Threshers. Leo jumped up & did a spin to avoid, but before he could stick the landing Snatch hit him with a Hyper Hop Rock sending Leo falling backwards. "Ouch." Leo groaned as picked himself up.

Snatch smirked & fired a Hyper Tazerling as Hunter J fired a Hyper MakoBreaker. The Hyper Tazerling zapped Leo & then the Hyper MakoBreaker smashed into Leo. "That's going to leave a mark." Save muttered

Leo groaned & then he rolled to the side to avoid Snatch's Hyper Rammstone.

Leo jumped up & fired SparkPlug but he was taken done by J's Hyper Sand Angler as Leo was hit by Snatch's Hyper Vinedrill who used its Tendrella move to tie Leo up. The power of the hit made Leo fall backwards. Leo tried to sit up but Snatch & Hunter J were towering over him & had their blasters aimed right at his head. "This is so not fair." Save growled but the Hyper slingers began to charge up their blasters.

"Brink is going to pay us well when you're gone." J grinned

Leo desperately tried to think of a way to get free & out of harm but he couldn't think of anything. So he shut his eyes (technically his one eye) waiting for them to finish him off. Leo heard a blaster go off but nothing hit him. He opened his eye to see that J & Snatch had been hit away by a Rammstone & they took cover behind boulders as a couple of other slugs were fired at them. Leo turned his head to see Eli, Karina, & his friends at the entrance of the Spot. Christi ran up to Leo as everyone else covered them. "See what happens when you go off by yourself?" she asked as she freed Leo from the vines.

Leo just grumped & they ran back to Eli. "How did you guys find me?" Leo asked as they fired down on Snatch & J.

"A tracking device." Karina replied with a grin.

"How many do I have on me?" Leo demanded as he patted himself & found the tracking devices that J & Karina used.

Meanwhile, Snatch & J hid behind the boulders. "Ok now I would like some help." J said

Snatch smirked. "All you had to do was ask." he replied & he turned on his intercom & spoke into it.

Eli, Karina, & the Shane Strikers continued to fire slug after slug at Snatch's & J's position. "Hold your fire!" Eli ordered & was about to approach the 2 Hyper slingers when he was hit by a Hyper Hop Rock from behind. They all turned around to see a big group of Hyper slingers charging at them through the tunnel. Leo & Eli fired their Geoshards at the tunnel's walls & blocked the way with crystals. But the crystals didn't last long & the Hyper slingers rushed in firing Hyper slugs at the Shane group. "Take cover!" Eli ordered & they scattered through the small cave, avoiding the Hyper slingers & slugs.

Snatch & J grinned & they rejoined the fight. Snatch & several Hyper slingers fired Hyper slugs at the fleeing Quiver & Leo. Leo fired Smasher as Quiver fired his Frostcrawler, & Leo followed up by firing Revenge. Smasher & the Frostcrawler took down most of the Hyper slugs to allow Revenge to attack the Hyper slingers. Snatch dove out of the way before Revenge could poison the other Hyper slingers.

Meanwhile, 5 Hyper slingers fired Hyper slugs at Eli & Garo. They either dodged the Hyper slugs or hit them out of the way. Eventually, Eli fired a megamorphed Gooper as Garo fired his Flaringo. Gooper stick all the 5 Hyper slingers in one pile of sticky slime & the Flaringo flew around the pile, heating it up with its flames, hardening it, & with the Hyper slingers inside.

As they did that combo Christi & Karina were busy shooting down or dodging Hyper slugs from Hunter J & the other Hyper slingers. Christi fired her Armashelt who knocked away several Hyper slugs. Karina fired her Mimkey who transformed into a red Bubbaleone & it deflected the remaining Hyper slugs off its big belly. "Some hunter." Karina taunted

J snarled & fired a Hyper Armashelt. Karina fired Saphira who knocked the Hyper slug away & then blasted flames at J & the Hyper slingers , setting them on fire. They panicked & they jumped into the pond, killing the flames. Christi smirked & fired her Tazerling at them. Hunter J noticed the velacimorphing slug & he jumped out of the water as the slug electrified it & zapped the Hyper slingers into submission.

Now only Hunter J & Snatch remained. Leo grinned & fired Weaver who tied them both up in webbing. "And that takes care of that." Leo said, putting his blaster away.

"No it doesn't Hyper is going to send more people after you." Eli said, killing the mood.

"But I was able to handle them." Leo defended

"But they had you at their mercy when we got here." Eli snapped "And that wouldn't have happened if you didn't run off."

"I ran off to be left alone, because you don't believe that I can take care of myself!" Leo snapped

Eli wanted to protest but instead he sighed. "You're right." he said

"Really? I mean of course I am." Leo said

"Yes, I was afraid that you'd get hurt but thanks to my actions you were out in greater danger than you were in before." Eli admitted

"So does this mean I don't need a babysitter anymore?" Leo asked with a shy grin.

"You don't need a babysitter anymore." Eli chuckled

"Yes!" Leo cheered

"But that doesn't mean we can't use tracking devices." Karina joked & killed Leo's mood as everyone else chuckled.

"Great job, Snatch you really came in handy for this job." J sassed "We had that Shane brat finished. Brink is not going to be happy with your performance."

Snatch laughed. "You're fight I am a thief." he said "But here's where you're wrong, I haven't failed Brink."

"What are you taking about?!" J demanded

"My mission was never to defeat Leo," Snatch replied, he then cut the webbing & sprung up. "It was for me to do this." he finished & fired a Hyper Arachnet that grabbed onto Save & pulled him back onto Snatch's hand.

"Save!" Leo yelled & turned around to see Save being squeezed by Snatch's tight grip. "Give him back!" Leo demanded, aiming his blaster at the thief.

Snatch laughed. "I don't think so." he replied & aimed his blaster at Leo. "Here's the deal you're going to let me walk out of here with this Pulter slug." he ordered

"And why would I do that?" Leo growled

Snatch didn't reply instead he aimed the blaster at Save. Leo gasped when he realized what Snatch was thinking. "I think you see my point." Snatch smirked & squeezed Save like a squeaky toy.

"You will not take Save." Leo snarled

"I already have." Snatch grinned & a Hyper Negashade flew from out of nowhere & flooded the entire cave with a black cloud if darkness.

Leo fired Breeze who blew away the cloud. Leo gasped when he saw that Snatch was gone. He sprinted through the tunnel leaving everyone else behind. "Leo wait up!" Eli called & followed him.

Leo tripped half way through the tunnel & instead of getting up he began to cry & sob. Eli caught up to his son & kneeled down by him. "Are you ok?" he asked with a concerned tone.

"He took him. He took Save." Leo cried & he sat up "I promised that I would take care of him that he was my responsibility & now he's gone." Leo replied & continued to cry.

Eli embraced his weeping son. "Don't worry we'll get him back." he promised, but Leo continued to cry for his stolen friend.

* * *

**I hope this chapter was enjoyable, but it was really a set up for the next chapter. (Which I need to work on).**


	41. Chapter 41

Saving Save

Eli led a teary eyed Leo back to the Spot where everyone else had gathered up the captured Hyper slingers including Hunter J. "Are you ok?" asked a concerned Christi to Leo.

Leo was about to reply when he noticed J. He filled up with rage & lunged at the hunter. He grabbed him by the neck & lifted him up. "Where did he take him?!" Leo demanded, but J couldn't answer because Leo was choking him.

"Leo what are you doing?!" Eli demanded

Leo ignored him & threw J at the cave's wall. "I said where did he take Save?!" Leo demanded as J picked himself up.

Leo punched him several times, he picked him up & threw him at a pile of rocks. "Where is he?!" Leo demanded & was about to beat up J again, but Eli grabbed him from behind.

"That's enough, Leo!" Eli ordered

Leo managed to break out of Eli's & began to repeatedly punch J.

Leo was going to pick him up & throw him again but then both Eli & Garo grabbed him & pinned him down. "That's enough." Eli repeated as Leo struggled to get free.

"I need to know, I need to know where they took Save." Leo growled, trying to break free with no luck.

"Stop this Leo!" Eli ordered "Beating him up won't bring back Save, he's not even worth it."

Leo desperately tried to free himself, he eventually gave up, & began to weep. Eli & Garo let him go & helped him to his feet. "We'll find him." Eli promised, as Leo continued to weep.

Christi embraced her saddened friend. "Yeah, Save wouldn't want you to feel bad or to be as bad the rat that toke him." Christi said

"I guess you're right." Leo said, trying to wipe away the tears. "But how are we going to find him?"

"I have a few ideas." Eli replied

Snatch had just arrived to the Hyper Base. He entered into Brink's office. "Did you complete the mission?" Brink demanded from his desk.

Snatch just grinned & held up a yellow slug tube with a very angry, but a normal, Save. "Very good, now what about Hunter J's mission?" Brink asked

"I wouldn't call him a hunter." Snatch smirked

"Very well, here's your pay." Brink said & placed a briefcase on his desk. "However, I would like you to deliver that Pulter slug to a Hyper factory." Brink added

"What for?" Snatch asked

"I suspect the Shanes will arrive here sometime soon & I wouldn't want your mission to be for nothing." Brink answered

Snatch nodded his head, took his money, & left to deliver the angry & growling Pulter slug.

"I will never know how that Shane brat ever got his hands on one of the rarest slugs ever known." Brink said to himself. "But now it's mine & when it becomes a Hyper slug it will be worth a fortune," he grinned "or more."

Snatch had arrived to the Hyper factory. "Make sure this stays locked up." Snatch said & tossed Save to one of the Hyper slingers.

Snatch left as the Hyper slinger took Save to a room, he opened the yellow slug tube, dumped Save into a glass box that sat in a table, he locked it, & left the room locking it as well. "I demanded to see my lawyer!" Save chirped, he began tackling the glass cage he even blasted tiny energy surges, but he couldn't even make a scratch.

He whimpered & fell to ground, too depressed that he allowed himself to be kidnapped & separated from his friends, but what was strange was that the depression had come from nowhere & was effecting him.

Just then he heard something moving behind him. He stood up & turned to see a scary figure growling at him. Save screamed & ran only to crash into the glass wall. He fell back & looked up to see the scary creature approaching him. Save panicked & hoped around the cage, he look behind him & saw that the creature was not there. He stopped & turned around only to see a glowing slug skull glaring at him, only inches from his face. Save screamed & jumped backwards only to hit the glass wall. He began to quiver & cower down as the glowing skulled creature approached him. "Please leave me alone." begged a terrified Save, but then the creature stepped into the light so now Save could perfectly see that it was a slug.

The slug has the body shape of a Negashade, it's completely black, & has skeletal like patterns on the front & back sides of its body, much like that of a Frightgeist's, the slug's skeletal patterns are also glowing an eerie white.

"Phew, I thought you were some kind of monster." Save sighed

The slug growled & made Save jump. The slug snarled & then began to laugh. "I get that allot." it chuckled creepily, Save could tell from its voice that it was a boy.

"I bet you do." Save said nervously. "What kind of slug are you?"

"I'm a Midfright." the slug replied

"Cool, do you have a name?" Save asked

"Most slugs just call me Grim." the Midfright answered

"Ok Grim, how did you end up in here?"

"Not much to say just that one night I'm minding my own business & next thing I know I'm here."

"How long have you been in here?"

"I don't know maybe a couple of weeks."

"Weeks?!"

"Yeah, those rude humans are crept out & scared by me so they don't even bother to come near me."

"I can see why." Save said & he got a chill down his spin.

"You can feel it too." Grim added "You see one of my abilities is that I can make people feel crept out, nervous, scared, or feel depressed."

"So that's why I felt so depressed earlier."

"Yeah, you rampaging around this cage kind of surprised me. Sorry."

"You don't have to apologize."

"So what's your name, what kind of slug are you, & what's your story?" Grim asked

"My name is Save, I'm a Pulter slug, & I was taken away from my friends & I ended up here."

"Well nice to meet you, Save." Grim greeted & held out his hand.

"Nice to meet you too, Grim." Save replied & shook his hand. "So what's the escape plan?"

"Why would you do that?"

"Um, why wouldn't I?"

"This cage is triple reinforced it won't break even break if a Rammstone, Grenuke, & Flaringo attacks it."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that you should get comfortable & besides if they put you in here they probably intend to keep you in here for a while, just like me."

"But there must be a way to escape."

"No, there isn't." Grim repeated & took a seat by the glass wall.

Save ignored Grim & began tackling & bursting energy at the cage. He kept it up until he began to pant & collapsed on the ground from exhaustion. "I told you it wouldn't break." Grim said as Save caught his breath.

A Hyper slinger then unlocked & entered the room. He approached the glass cage & peered at the 2 slugs inside. He opened up the top & reached for Save. "Time to be a Hyper." the slinger sneered & grabbed Save.

As he lifted him into the air Save bit down on the slinger's hand. The slinger squealed & dropped Save, who fell to the table below. The slinger growled & lunged at Save, who jumped to the floor. The slinger struggled to grab the agile Pulter, until Save was trapped at the corner of the room. "You're mine now." the slinger grinned & lunged at Save.

Save shut his eyes, he heard a loud thud, & opened his eyes to find himself on top of the table & that the slinger had smacked his head against the wall, where Save was originally. "How did I get here?" Save asked

"Who cares?" Grim answered, who had somehow escaped the cage without anyone noticing.

"Did you pull me out of there?" Save asked & pointed to the corner.

"No." Grim answered simply before jumping off the table & headed towards the door.

"I thought there was no way of escaping?" Save sassed & followed Grim.

"That was before you showed up." Grim replied & they hopped through the open door.

They found themselves in a large hallway, they checked to see if it was clear before heading out.

Meanwhile, the Shane Strikers, Karina, Jake, John, Sydney, & the Shane Gang were busy observing the Hyper Base. "Are you sure he's in there?" Leo asked

"He has to be," Eli replied "or at least someone in there will know where he is."

"So what's the plan?" Jake asked

"It's simple Leo, John, Jake, Pronto, & Karina will sneak in, scout the place out, & look for Save." Eli explained "And when you get a good idea of where he is the rest of us will distract Hyper."

"How will we _distract_ Hyper?" Quiver asked

"That should be easy to figure out." Eli grinned & spun his blaster.

Leo, Karina, Jake, & John fired their Thugglets to disguise them & Pronto as Hyper slingers. They then made their way towards the base, when they arrived at the front gate Leo fired Virus who unlocked & opened it up for them. Virus then traveled through the underground wiring & into the building where she hacked the camera room to freeze all the cameras.

As Virus did her part Leo & the others entered the base, once they were in the building their disguises wore off. "I don't sense him." Leo said, trying to focus in on Save's slug energy so he can track him.

"He must be further in this building." Karina suggested

"I think I've got something." Pronto said, sniffing the ground. "Quick, follow me." he ordered & scurried through the hall, nose to the ground. Pronto led them through several hallways before stopping at a doorway. "Our search is over." Pronto grinned & opened the door.

Leo & the others frowned at Pronto when all they saw behind the door was a janitor's closet. Pronto grinned nervously. "Sorry." he said shyly.

"I'm never going to get Save back." Leo muttered

Karina placed her hand on Leo's shoulder. "Don't worry we'll find him." she comforted

"I hope so." Leo said gloomily

"Don't worry we will." Jake said "We all miss the little guy anyway."

"I know I miss him." Speedy said gloomily.

"I thought you hated Save?" Jake asked Speedy

"I do," Seedy snapped "without him around who do I argue or fight with?"

Leo chuckled a bit & Speedy grinned that he was able to help. John then spoke up saying "Come on let's keep looking." he ordered & they continued to sneak through the building.

Back at the Hyper factory, Save & Grim continued to sneak through the giant building. "What are we looking for?" Grim asked

"A way out." Save replied, they then leaned against the wall as a pair of Hyper slingers passed them by.

"Good luck with that." Grim said

They continued through the hall until they heard footsteps. "Do you hear that?" Grim asked

"Yeah, sounds like allot of them." Save replied when he heard the footsteps & the chattering of slingers.

They hopped into a nearby room just as the small group of Hyper slingers walked by. "Phew, that was close." Save sighed, he then looked around to find themselves in a small room that had a glass wall at the opposite end.

"Check this out!" Grim called, who was standing next to the glass.

Save hopped over & looked through the glass to see a large chamber below them with a giant Hyper slug machine. Save realized that they were in the observatory deck, he watched as Hyper slingers loaded innocent & terrified slugs into the machine, & then turn them into aggressive & angry Hyper slugs. "What are they doing?" Grim asked

"They're turning slugs into Hypers." Save answered as he watched the slingers take the new batch of Hyper slugs away. "We have to rescue them."

"Rescue who?" Grim asked

"This is a Hyper factory there must be other slugs like us here." Save answered

"Probably, but how do you plan on rescuing them there are probably hundreds?" Grim questioned

"I'll figure it out after we find them." Save answered "What we should be figuring out is a better way to move through this place, without being spotted."

"I think I can help you there." Grim replied & hopped over to the wall & pointed up ward.

Save looked up to see an air vent. "That will be perfect, but how do we get inside it?" Save asked

"Like I said I can help you there." Grim repeated & grabbed onto Save's arm.

Save was about to ask, what he was doing, but before he knew it a small black haze circled around them & when it disappeared they found themselves inside the air vent. "What just happen?!" demanded a surprised & slightly freaked out Save.

Grim chuckled before answering. "I happened."

"What do you mean?" Save asked

"Not only can I give people negative feelings, but my true skill is that I can teleport." Grim answered

"Teleport?" Save echoed

"Yeah, you know it's when you start at one place then do a dimensional jump, & you end up somewhere else." Grim explained

"I know what teleportation is." Save snapped "I just never knew that there was a slug that can do it." Save added, realizing that Grim saved him from the slinger that trapped him earlier.

"Well you know one now." Grim grinned, hopping down the air vent. "Come on those slugs won't rescue themselves."

Save grinned & followed Grim through the vent. They didn't need any light because their bodies produced it for them to see.

"He's not here." said a disappointed Leo after they searched through most of the Hyper base.

"Yes, he is he has to be." John assured

"No, he's not I don't sense him." Leo said

"Then let's go there's no point of staying if he's not here." Karina suggested & the walked back towards the entrance.

Leo stopped. "Leo, the exit is that way." Jake said when he noticed Leo stopping.

Leo didn't answer instead he ran the opposite way leaving everyone else behind. "Leo, where are you going?!" they all demanded

"Leonardo, we're going this way!" Karina ordered, but Leo disappeared when he turned a corner.

Karina spoke into her earpiece as they sprinted after him. "Hey Eli we have a problem." she said.

"What's the problem?" Eli asked

"Not what, who." Karina corrected

Eli stayed quiet for a few seconds before answering. "Be ready for things to become chaotic, & for once can't you keep an eye on Leo." he said angrily & hung up.

"I really need to put a leash on that kid." Karina muttered as they frantically tried to find Leo.

Jake slightly smirked & chuckled at the remark, but then Karina gave him a stern look saying: keep it up & you'll get a muzzle. He immediately silenced himself & they continued their frantic search.

Meanwhile, Leo had arrived to Brink's office with 2 guards in the way of the entrance. Leo loaded & fired Bomb who blew up the door & the guards. Leo loaded Shipwreck & leaped through the smoke. He did a quick roll when he landed, he aimed his blaster towards where Brink's desk was located, & fired the MakoBreaker. Shipwreck chomped through the empty desk as if it was a cracker. "Wait, where's Brink?" Leo asked, but then someone punched him & sent him falling.

Leo looked up to see Brink as he loaded a Hyper Hop Rock into his blaster. "You look lost, can I help you?" Brink asked sarcastically & aimed the blaster & fired the Hyper slug.

Leo leaped out of the way & loaded the first slug he could grab, which was Dumpster. Leo fired him but Brink used a Hyper Aquabeek to wash the stinker away. "Are you possibly looking for something?" Brink teased

Leo growled & charged at Brink, intending to beat him up. Brink grinned as he easily avoided Leo's punched, he then grabbed onto Leo's arm & thew him over to the wall. "Didn't your parents ever teach you any manners?" Brink demanded, loading a Hyper Armashelt. "Don't bother answering instead I'll teach you some." he growled, aiming the blaster at Leo.

Just as Brink pulled the trigger, Leo disappeared in a haze of black. "What?!" Brink demanded

Leo reappeared from behind Brink & in midair. He jumped onto Brink's back & kicked him forward, crashing into the wall. Brink snarled & whirled around to attack Leo, but he was met with a fist to the face. He fell back against the wall before being repeatedly hit by the angry Shane. Leo put away his Shadow Walker, grabbed Brink, & picked him up by the shoulders. "Where is he?!" Leo demanded before throwing Brink across the room. "I said, where is he?" Leo repeated, walking towards the fallen Brink, he grabbed him by the collar, & raised him up. "Where is Save?" Leo growled

"Who?" Brink taunted

Leo growled & threw him across the room again. Brink landed on the floor with a loud thud, Leo jumped up & stood over Brink, he grabbed his collar, & growled. "I says where is Save? Where is my slug?"

"Oh, you mean the Pulter?" Brink said with a taunting smile. "It's not here."

Leo picked him & raised him into the air. "I know he's not here." Leo snarled "I want to know where he is."

"I'll tell you what you can have it only if you have enough gold to pay for it, & besides why would I tell you?" asked a bruised & hurt Brink.

"So you can keep your pathetic life." Leo threatened

Brink chuckled. "Dark words coming from a Shane." he said

Leo angrily threw Brink at his busted desk, knocking him out. Leo loaded Basher & marched towards the hurt Hyper boss. Leo aimed his blaster & was ready to fire, but then Basher jumped out of the slug tube & onto Brink. "What are you doing?" Leo demanded

"Stop this, this isn't you." Basher whimpered

"What do you mean?" Leo demanded "I'm getting Save back. Don't you want him back too?"

"Of course we want him back." Sorry snapped & hopped down to Basher. "But being like our enemy will not get him back."

"I'm nothing like him!" Leo snapped & pointed to the unconscious Brink.

"Then put away the blaster!" Trip snapped & joined his friends as did the rest of Leo's slugs.

"We want Save back just as much as you do." Chip assured

"But this is not the way to do it." X added

Leo glared at his slugs, taking in all they had to say before his expression went from anger to sadness. He dropped his blaster & fell to his knees crying. His slugs gathered around him & assured him that it was ok. "It's ok, you proved that you were nothing like him." Sorry assured as Leo continued to cry.

"Save wouldn't want you to cry." Return said

Leo's tears eventually passed, he wiped his face, & looked at his slugs, who were glaring at him. "I'm so sorry for the scare guys." Leo apologized

"It's ok." Warden assured as they all hopped into slug tubes or into the backpack.

"Yeah, let's just get out of this dump." Jokes grinned making Leo give a slight chuckle.

He stood up & made his way out of the office only to be surrounded by Hyper slingers, all of which had their blasters aim at him. Leo didn't know what to do but before anything could happened all the Hyper slingers were defeated by random slugs. "See Pronto the Amazing said he could find him!" Pronto cheered

"Leonardo, you're in so much trouble!" Karina scolded as she fired a Hop Rock at the last of the Hyper slingers.

"Yeah do you have any idea how much trouble you've could have gotten into?" John demanded when they gathered around Leo.

"I actually I kind of do." Leo replied & pointed into the office.

They all looked in to see an unconscious Brink & a messes up room. "Looks like a bunch of Grenukes exploded at the same time." Jake said

Leo was about to reply when they heard an explosion from outside the building. "What was that?" Leo asked as another explosion went off.

"Everyone else." Jake answered & they all sprinted through the hall.

A group of Hyper slingers appeared in front of them. Leo fired Heat as everyone else fired their own slugs, defeating the slingers easily before continuing through the building. They ran for a few minutes before ending up at a dead end. "Enough of this." Leo said & fired Driller at the wall, creating a giant hole.

They looked out to see that they were in the fifth floor & to see all their friends dueling Hyper slingers in the courtyard bellow. They noticed that the metal wall had several holes in it suggesting they used Grenukes, Hop Rocks, & possibly Digger, Eli's Crystalyd slug, to get into the base. They all fired their Arachnets & used the webbing to lower themselves down. When they reached the ground they each fired their own slugs at the Hyper slingers. They continued to launch slugs until they reached Eli. "Leonardo, you are in allot of trouble." Eli scolded when they reached him.

"You could have been hurt!" Trixie scolded "You have some explaining to do!"

"I know, I know." Leo said, firing Slushy at a group of slingers.

"Can we go now?" Luke asked, firing Typhoon who whipped up a twister & blew away allot if slingers.

"Yup." Kord replied & they sprinted back through the wall & to their mechas.

"Phew, that was close." Leo sighed but then he noticed Eli glaring at him. "I'm sorry I just miss Save."

Eli sighed. "I know but you can't be reckless you have to be smart." Eli explained

"Yeah now we don't even have a lead on where Save is, thanks to me." Leo said gloomily

"What do you mean?" Sydney asked, pulling up to Leo.

"I had a conversation with Brink but unfortunately he passed out before telling me." Leo said nervously.

"Sounds like we're going to have a conversation later." Eli said

"And besides we do have a lead." Christi chimed

"Really?" Leo asked

"Of course," Christi replied "while you were busy talking to Brink, Virus came to me & downloaded a file onto my computer with the location of a Hyper factory." she explained & handed Leo Virus.

"So is Save there?" Leo asked

"Only one way to find out." Trixie said & they rode off for the factory.

Save & Grim were hopping through the air vent, searching for the other captive slugs. "So if you can teleport can't you teleport us out of here?" Save asked

"No, because it takes a bit of energy for me to teleport & the furthest I can teleport myself is only 5 feet." Grim explained

"Oh, so you won't be able to teleport the rest of the slugs out either?" Save asked

"Unfortunately, yes." Grim replied, he looked through the air vent grate. "Speaking of slugs." he said & gestured for Save to look.

Save looked through the grate to see a room filled with barred cages & slug barrels, which are full of slugs. "Can you get us down there?" Save asked

"Yes, but like I said it takes a bit of energy to teleport." Grim replied, he grabbed onto Save & teleported them onto one of the cages.

"Nice job now let's free these slugs before anyone shows up." Save said, unlocking the slug cage & allowing the slugs to hop out.

Grim jumped over to a slug barrel, pushed the release button, & freed the slugs. They continued to unlock & free slugs for about 15 minutes, until they were sure that they got everyone. "How do we get out of here?" asked a nervous Flaringo

"Yeah, how?" demanded a Forgesmelter

"There is no way out, we can't get these many slugs out of here." Grim said

"Aren't you just a ray of sunshine?" Save asked sarcastically.

"Yes, yes I am." Grim sassed

Save then thought about what to do & then got a plan. He led the slugs to the far end of the room where they wouldn't be seen because of the piles of stacked cages & slug barrels. Save got any Fire elemental slug to stand in a circle & heat up the metal floor, once it was heated Save got every Aquabeek and Frostcrawler to cool the metal floor. They repeated this process between heat & cool until the floor became completely rusty. Once it was Save got every Armashelt, Hop Rock, & Grenuke to climb onto the ceiling & hang just above the rusty part of the floor. Save then signaled them to jump down & smash into the rusty floor creating patches of holes & dirt underneath. Now Save used the Digrexes & Sand Anglers to burrow through the exposed dirt, creating tunnels to the outside. As they dug Save & Grim directed the other slugs to follow the tunnels all the way to freedom. "This might actually work." Grim chimed

"Of course it will." Save responded, they then heard footsteps from outside the room. "Hurry everyone." Save ordered, directing the remaining slugs into tunnels, but the footsteps only got louder & closer.

"Grim make sure they all get through." Save ordered before hopping towards the door.

"Where are you going?" Grim demanded

Save didn't bother to answer instead he ran through the door just as a Hyper slinger opened it. "Hey get back here!" the slinger demanded & chased Save through the hallway.

"That slug is very brave." commented a Vinedrill as it entered a tunnel.

"Actually, I think he's very stupid." Grim replied, jumping into a tunnel. "No wonder there's so little Pulter slugs left." Grim muttered as he heard the slinger's yelling get further & further away.

"Are you sure he's here?" Sydney asked when they arrived to the Hyper factory.

They were observing it from far away to avoid being noticed.

"He has to be." Leo replied

"And if not we keep searching." Garo added

"Alright let's go." Leo said & was about to head towards the factory when Karina grabbed his arm.

"Not so fast," Karina said "last time you ran off by yourself you pummeled the only person that knew where Save is located."

Leo was about to protest when a small voice chirped. "Save, like as in a Pulter slug?" the voice asked

"Yeah, that's him." Leo smiled "Wait, who said that?"

"I did." the voice chirped. Leo & everyone else looked around completely confused. "Down here." the voice called

Leo looked down & saw a Midfright looking up & chirping at him. "You're looking for Save, right?" Grim asked

Leo bent down. "Yeah I'm looking for Save." Leo replied "But how do you know him?"

"Save helped me & whole bunch of other slugs escape from that factory." Grim replied

"Really?" Leo smiled "But where is Save?"

"That rash slug decided to distract a Hyper goon to allow the rest of us to escape." Grim replied

"Sounds like someone else we know." Karina muttered

"Enough talk we have to save Save!" Leo demanded

"But we need a plan." Eli interrupted "We can't just rush in there, yes we know Save is in there, but we can't risk anyone getting hurt."

"Ok, but what can we do?" Leo asked "How can we get in there without being noticed?"

"I can help you there." Grim replied & hopped onto Leo's knee.

"How?" Leo asked

"Do you know what kind of slug I am?" Grim asked

"I think you'd a Midfright, right?" Leo answered

"And so you know what Midfrights do?" Grim asked

"No." Leo replied

"Well time to find out." Grim said & hopped into an empty slug tube.

Leo grinned & loaded the Midfright into his blaster. "Oh do you have a name?" Leo asked

"My name is Grim." Grim replied just before Leo fired him towards the factory.

Grim morphed into a pretty creepy yet a cool velacimorph. He has a slim body shape of a Negashade except he doesn't have the curved antennas. He's completely black with a glowing skull & skeletal marks all over his body. The marks are glowing an eerie white. Grim also as a long slim tail with a silver scythe at the end.

Grim vanished in a haze of black & then reappeared behind Leo, he grabbed Leo's shoulders & teleported him away.

"Where'd he go?" Pronto asked as they all stood there in wonder of what had just happened.

Meanwhile, 3 Hyper slingers searched through a hallway looking for the escaped Pulter, they marched down the hall searching for it. Save grinned from the ceiling when the slingers passed him by. He hopped down to the floor & took off in the opposite direction. He hoped through several hallways until he reached the slug storage room, where the other slugs made their escape earlier. Save hoped inside only to find 4 angry Hyper slingers searching the room. "Look there's one." a slinger growled & pointed at Save.

Another slinger lunged at Save, but he hopped up & ran through the room as the slingers lunged, snapped, & stomped at him. They eventually trapped him in the corner of the room. "No place to run now." they grinned and were about to capture the cowering Pulter when Leo popped out of nowhere & landed on top of one of them. "What tha?!" the slingers & Leo asked when he appeared

A slinger tried to grab Leo, but he quickly jumped back & fired Goop who pinned him to the wall. The other 3 slingers lunged at Leo, but he dove behind a couple of empty slug barrels. "Nowhere to run, kid." a slinger snarled & locked the door.

Leo hid behind a pile of cages, watching the slingers search for him. "Need some help?" Grim asked, hopping onto Leo's shoulder.

Leo nodded & allowed Grim to hop into his blaster. He stood up & fired Grim at the 4 slingers. Grim velacimorphed & hit the slingers. Their eyes began to glow eerie white & stood there as of unaware of anything. Leo was completely confused. "Um help?" he asked but then the slingers screamed & began to panic.

They ran around the room screaming at everything they saw before frantically unlocking the door & running out screaming as Leo watched in confusion. "What just happened?" he asked

Grim chuckled. "I happened." he replied & hoped over to Leo who picked him up. "You see not only can I teleport but I can make people feel negative, & when I make contact with a target I change their eyesight to make everything they see look scary & dark."

"Oh so that's why they their eyes changed & they panicked so easily." Leo grinned

"I guess that's why they locked you up." Save grinned, hopping over to Leo.

"Save!" Leo grinned & picked up his favorite slug.

"Did you miss me?" Save grinned

"Believe it or not, but I really did." Leo answered

"I believe it, I'm sure you were lost without me." Save jeered

"I can handle myself." Leo grinned & the rest of his slugs rolled their eyes.

"Did anything happen while I was gone?" Save asked

Leo was nervous to answer. "Nothing much." Sorry replied, Leo sighed with relief as Sorry winked at him.

"Really?" Save asked "I thought for sure you would have gone berserk or at least have felt depressed."

"No he was perfectly fine." Trip lied

"It was like you were never gone." X teased

"Well now I want to be gone from here." Save said & jumped onto a grinning Leo's shoulder. "So how are we getting out of here?" Save asked

"I think our new friend can help us." Leo replied & held up Grim.

"Grim?!" said a surprised Save.

"Yup." Grim replied proudly. "Looks like your newest member has proven himself."

"So you want to join our team?" Leo asked

"Of course it beats sitting in a glass cage all day." Grim answered

Just then an alarm sounded. "Time to go." Leo said, loading his new slug.

Then 3 Hyper slingers rushed into the room. "Hold it right there." they ordered, but Leo quickly launched Grim.

Grim velacimorphed, he swung his tail around, & used his scythe to cut their blasters in half. The slingers screamed in fear & surprise before running off. "Now can we go?" Grim asked as he returned to Leo.

"Yes we can go." Leo grinned he then loaded & fired Grim who teleported them back to everyone else.

"Leonardo, what did you do this time?" Eli demanded

"Save a friend." Leo grinned & held out Save.

"Nice to see you buddy." Burpy greeted

"Great to have you back." Kord chimed

"We sure did miss you." Christi greeted

"I missed you all, too." Save answered

"I didn't miss you." Speedy chirped, & Save rolled his eyes and smiled.

"How did you guys get out of there?" Sydney asked

"Grim helped us." Leo answered & held out Grim.

"So you got Save back & you got a new slug, I would call this a good day." Garo chimed

"So would I." Leo replied

"But you're still in trouble for running off & for being so reckless." Eli scowled

"I thought you said nothing happened?" Save demanded

"I'll fill you in on the way home." Leo said apologetically before they hopped onto their mechas & rode off for their homes leaving the Hyper factory in an uproar of slingers desperately but pointlessly trying to find the intruder & the escaped slugs.

* * *

**I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. I would also like to point out that I will not be updating for a week because I'm going out of town and will not be taking my computer. I will have my cellphone so I will be able to read and review. **


End file.
